Eight Straight: Rockets stun Chargers, dominate Warriors in region play

The New Rockford-Sheyenne Rockets hosted Super Region 4 competitors, the Nelson County Chargers, on Thursday, Jan. 19.

The Rockets were on a winning-streak high, and weren't ready to take a loss, especially to a Super Region 4 competitor.

NR-S freshman, Ava Peterson, was a key player for the Rockets in the first quarter. Peterson scored over half of the 22 points in the entire quarter. The Rockets held the Chargers to under 10 points each quarter, with the Chargers only scoring four in the first.

The Rockets kept pushing. If they weren't full court pressing, they were using the offense to the best of their abilities. Kaiya O'Connor swished her first 3-pointer of the night in the second quarter, followed by two field goals. Kelsie Belquist also added her name to the scorebook by swishing three field goals. The Rockets were on FIRE.

At the half, the Chargers were down by 30 points. There was no coming back.

With another 3-pointer by O'Connor and two field goals each by Belquist and Peterson, the Rockets were still fighting for a win. With only six points scored in the third by the Chargers, the Rockets held the lead at 52-13.

Nelson County senior, Rylan Parsley, swished the Chargers' only 3-pointer of the night in the fourth quarter. Sydnee Johnson also scored four points for the Chargers at the free-throw line. The Chargers held the Rockets to only two points in the fourth quarter, but it was far too late.

The Rockets had defeated the Chargers, 54-23, earning their fourth region win of the season.

Double digit scorers for the Rockets were Belquist with 19, Peterson with 18 and O'Connor with 10.

Parsley led the Chargers with a total of eight points.

Both the junior varsity and junior high NR-S teams were defeated by the Chargers, 42-24 and 51-20, respectively.

Super Region 4

Girls' Basketball

NR-S 54, Nelson Co. 23

Thursday, Jan. 19

in New Rockford

NR-S: 22 15 15 2 – 54

NC: 4 3 6 10 – 23

NR-S: Kelsie Belquist 19, Ava Peterson 18, Kaiya O'Connor 10, Lora Wobbema 6, Madisen Myhre 1. Totals: 13 FG, 6-13 FT, 12 fouls. 3-pointers: O'Connor 2.

Nelson County: Rylan Parsley 8, Sydnee Johnson 6, Nevaeh Huso 4, Rylee Flaagan 2, Brandi Lippert 2, Krista Lippert 1. Totals: 8 FG, 6-8 FT, 13 fouls. 3-pointer: Parsley 1.

Junior Varsity

NR-S 24, Nelson Co. 42

Junior High

NR-S 20, Nelson Co. 51

Monday, Jan. 23

at Warwick

Following the Super Region 4 matchup on Thursday, the Rockets traveled to Warwick to take on yet another region competitor: The Warwick Lady Warriors.

And just like Thursday's game, the Rockets came out and played with confidence. Belquist went steal-for-steal, scoring 10 points in just the first quarter. Peterson also made nearly all of her shots. In the first quarter, she swished her first 3-pointer of the night, followed by two field goals and two free-throws.

The Lady Warriors were able to score nine points in the first, with five coming from Madison Cavanaugh. The Lady Warriors were down by 15 after the first quarter.

Three-pointers were the name of the game for the Rockets and Lady Warriors in the second quarter. For the Rockets, O'Connor and Peterson each swished one. Cavanaugh swished her second of the night, followed by Bethany Brown and Braylee Longie, each shooting their only 3-pointers of the game.

At the half, the Rockets held a 44-22 lead over the Lady Warriors.

Third quarter brought more pressure by the Rockets, which led to more breakaways to the basket.

In just the third quarter, the Rockets had scored 25 points between Belquist, Peterson and O'Connor. Belquist scored four field goals, and was sent to the line to shoot 3-of-4 free-throws. Along with Belquist was Peterson, who also swished four field goals. O'Connor took a shot from beyond the arc to swish her second 3-pointer of the night, followed by a field goal and two free-throw attempts.

The Lady Warriors came back fighting in the fourth quarter, after many of the NR-S starters were taken out. The Lady Warriors scored the most points in the fourth quarter. Julianne Hill was found behind the arc, shooting two 3-pointers. Cavanaugh added two more field goals, followed by two free-throws, to the Lady Warriors' score.

NR-S non-starters, Lucy Meier and Addysen Fandrich, were able to add their names to the scorebook, after each swished two field goals.

The Rockets defeated the Lady Warriors 83-51, earning their eighth consecutive win.

Belquist, Peterson and O'Connor were top scorers for the Rockets with 29, 27 and 15 points, respectively.

Cavanaugh led the Lady Warriors with a total of 18 points. Hill also scored in double digits with a total of 10 points.

The Rockets traveled to St. John on Friday, Jan. 27 to take on the Lady Woodchucks in yet another Super Region 4 matchup. On Tuesday, Jan. 31 the Rockets will host the Langdon Area/Edmore/Munich Cardinals (A,B,JH) starting at 4:30 p.m. Both of these games will be covered in the February 6 edition of the New Rockford Transcript.

Super Region 4

Girls' Basketball

NR-S 83, Warwick 51

Monday, Jan. 23

at Warwick

NR-S: 24 20 25 12 - 83

Warwick: 9 13 11 18 - 51

NR-S: Kelsie Belquist 29, Ava Peterson 27, Kaiya O'Connor 15, Addysen Fandrich 4, Lucy Meier 4, Madisen Myhre 2, Lora Wobbema 2. Totals: 33 FG, 11-15 FT, 7 fouls. 3-pointers: O'Connor 2, Peterson 2.

Warwick: Madison Cavanaugh 18, Julianne Hill 10, Cadence Feather 7, Jada Clark 6, Bethany Brown 5, Braylee Longie 3, Isabella Baer 2. Totals: 20 FG, 5-8 FT, 10 fouls. 3-pointers: Hill 2, Cavanaugh 2, Brown 1, Longie 1.