Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Rockets take third at Districts, set to play St. John Monday
The New Rockford-Sheyenne seniors accepted their third place plaque and basketball after the completion of the District 4 Tournament. From left to right: Katie Allmaras, Trysta Thumb, Lora Wobbema and Kelsie Belquist.
Luke Steele was the newest, and by far the youngest, referee at the District 4 Tournament this year. Here he is sitting next to his sister, Libby, with his whistle at the ready.
NR-S freshman Emmie Belquist puts up a shot around the defense of Griggs-Midkota center Vanessa Vollmer.
The New Rockford-Sheyenne girls' basketball team has earned their ticket to the Region 2 Tournament that will be held in Devils Lake on Feb. 19, 20 and 22.
How did they make it there? Let's find out.
In the quarterfinal round of the District 4 Tournament held in New Rockford, the Rockets were paired up with the Griggs-Midkota Titans.
Having beat the Titans in the regular season with double digits, the Rockets knew it should be an easy win.
That was, until NR-S senior Kelsie Belquist went out with a season-ending injury after the non-region game against Medina-Pingree/Buchanan on Monday, Feb. 5.
Even though they were missing their key player, the Rockets played their hearts out.
The Rockets went on to score 12 points in the first quarter, and another 13 in the second quarter only allowing the Titans to score a measly five points. At the half, the Rockets had a 20-point advantage.
The Rockets momentum slowed in the third quarter, where they scored only seven points. But they still held a healthy lead, as the Titans scored a total of six points in the third.
The fourth quarter is where things absolutely changed.
The Titans were fired up and ready to fight back in hopes of a win. Griggs-Midkota freshman Jessa Spickler went on a run, scoring two field goals and two 3-pointers for the Titans. Eleven more points were scored by the Titans. With Kaiya O'Connor, Ava Peterson and Emmie Belquist scoring for the Rockets, the Titans came up just 12 points short.
The Rockets had defeated the Titans 44-32 to move on in the semifinal round.
Top scorers for the Rockets were O'Connor with 15, Peterson with 11 and E. Belquist with 9. Spickler led the Titans with 19, followed by Ryan Johnson with seven.
The Rockets moved on to the semifinals to take on the Benson County Wildcats, whom they had lost to in regular season 55-61.
The Wildcats weren't going to give up easily, as they scored 13 points to the Rockets six in the first quarter.
The Rockets began to push their way back in the second quarter, with Peterson leading the way with nine of the 14 points scored. But the Wildcats were unstoppable with the scoring duo of Aubrey Kenner and Kaitlyn Maddock scoring 16 of the Wildcats 21 points in the second quarter.
At the half, the Wildcats led 34-20.
The Rockets couldn't seem to slow the Wildcats down. In the second half, the Rockets were able to score 13 points but it wasn't enough, as the Wildcats scored 24 more.
The Rockets fell 33-58, and would head into a region qualifier game against the Larimore Polar Bears.
Peterson led the Rockets with 16, followed by Addysen Fandrich with nine. As for the Wildcats, Kenner and Maddock scored in double digits, each with 19.
The Rockets and Polar Bears were neck-and-neck in the first quarter, with the Polar Bears taking an early 3-point lead after the first quarter.
However, the Rockets kept pushing and outscored the Polar Bears in quarter two 13-7.
At the half, the Rockets led 27-24.
The Polar Bears came out ahead in the third quarter after scoring eight points to the Rockets' two.
But the Rockets held the Polar Bears to only five points in the fourth quarter, which allowed the Rockets to score 19 points among Peterson, O'Connor, E. Belquist and Katie Allmaras.
The Rockets had defeated the Polar Bears 48-37, to earn a spot in the Region 2 Tournament.
Top scorers for the Rockets were Peterson with 25 and O'Connor with eight. As for the Polar Bears, Micayla Sharp scored 16 followed by Sadie Aamodt and Meg Reinhold each with six.
Congratulations to the Rockets on their third place finish in the District 4 Tournament.
Kelsie Belquist and Kaiya O'Connor were named to the All District 4 Team, along with Ella Fossen, Kaitlyn Maddock and Aubrey Kenner of Benson County; Trista Bilden, Elizabeth Pinke and Kennison Azure of Hatton-Northwood; Raina Satrom, Rylee Satrom, Maysa Larson and Raegen Zerface of May-Port-C-G.
Ava Peterson was among the five named to the All District 4 Tournament team. Others named were Rylee Satrom and Maysa Larson from May-Port-C-G; Aubrey Kenner from Benson County and Elizabeth Pinke of Hatton-Northwood.
Rylee Satrom was named District 4 Senior Athlete of the Year and May-Port-C-G coach Keenan Konschak was awarded the District 4 Coach of the Year award.
The Rockets will play the night cap on Monday, Feb. 19 against the St. John Lady Woodchucks at the Devils Lake Sports Center. Show your Rocket spirit and come cheer the girls on!
District 4
Girls' Basketball Tourney
Quarterfinals
NR-S 44, G-M 32
Friday, Feb. 9
in New Rockford
NR-S: 12 13 7 12 - 44
G-M: 3 2 6 21 - 32
New Rockford-Sheyenne: Kaiya O'Connor 15, Ava Peterson 11, Emmie Belquist 9, Addysen Fandrich 4, Katie Allmaras 3, Lora Wobbema 2. Totals: 15 FG, 10-16 FT, 7 fouls. 3-pointers: O'Connor 3, Allmaras 1.
Griggs-Midkota: Jessa Spickler 19, Ryan Johnson 7, Kelsey Johnson 2, Vanessa Vollmer 2, Ruth Haugen 2. Totals: 14 FG, 19 fouls. Fouled out: Haugen. 3-pointers: Spickler 3, R. Johnson 1.
District 4
Girls' Basketball Tourney
Semifinals
NR-S 33, BC 58
Saturday, Feb. 10
in New Rockford
NR-S: 6 14 5 8 - 33
BC: 13 21 19 7 - 58
New Rockford-Sheyenne: Ava Peterson 16, Addysen Fandrich 8, Kaiya O'Connor 5, Katie Allmaras 2, Lora Wobbema 2. Totals: 12 FG, 7-9 FT, 17 fouls. 3-pointers: O'Connor 1, Peterson 1.
Benson County: Aubrey Kenner 19, Kaitlyn Maddock 19, Lacie Fautsch 9, Ella Fossen 4, Isabella Engstrom 3, Katrina Nelson 2, Jorja Green 2. Totals: 20 FG, 14-19 FT, 9 fouls. 3-pointers: Kenner 3, Maddock 1.
District 4
Girls' Basketball Tourney
Region Qualifier
NR-S 48, Larimore 37
Monday, Feb. 12
in New Rockford
NR-S: 14 13 2 19 - 48
Larimore: 17 7 8 5 - 37
New Rockford-Sheyenne: Ava Peterson 25, Kaiya O'Connor 8, Emmie Belquist 7, Addysen Fandrich 2, Lora Wobbema 2, Katie Allmaras 2. Totals: 18 FG, 11-23 FT, 13 fouls. 3-pointers: O'Connor 1.
Larimore: Micayla Sharp 16, Sadie Aamodt 6, Meg Reinhold 6, Aleah Petsinger 3, Avarie Zahradka 3, Jacie Pernat 2, Allison Larson 1. Totals: 14 FG, 3-8 FT, 21 fouls. Fouled out: Pernat, Zahradka. 3-pointers: Aamodt 2, Reinhold 2, Zahradka 1, Petsinger 1.
