The Official Newspaper for Foster County
The Official Newspaper for Foster County
Harvey-Wells County got one of their most important wins this year, defeating the Dunseith Dragons by three and earning the Hornets a play-in game which was to be played in Harvey on Thursday, February 16.
The Hornets also played what one would consider their best game of the season, falling to St. John by 10 in the final regular season game of the year.
HWC 59, Dunseith 56
The Hornets scored 24 first quarter points and held off a valiant Dunseith comeback attempt in the fourth quarter to seal an important Region 4 victory with a 59-56 win over the Dragons in Dunseith on Thursday, February 9.
HWC and Dunseith traded points for the first half of the first quarter before the Hornets took advantage of the long ball. Emma Dockter knocked down two threes late in the quarter, and Rachel Neumiller scored eight first quarter points as the Hornets led, 24-17, after one.
Threes from Hannah Poitra and Kenya Poitra helped the Dragons keep the lead at single digits. Aubree Wolfe hit a three early in the second, but the well went almost dry for HWC after that point. Hannah Poitra sank two three pointers and Mikenzie McCloud added another, helping the Dragons pull to within 31-29 at the half.
Kayliegh Baker's deuce to start the second half tied the score, but the Hornets responded with a field goal from Larissa Arnold and a free throw from Neumiller. McCloud's steal and layup tied the game at 36, but the Hornets ended the third on a 8-2 run, with Dockter knocking down a deuce and a three, to end the third with HWC up, 44-38.
The Hornets dominated the early going in the fourth quarter, with Dockter collecting her fourth three and moving the score to 51-39. A bucket by Braylee Keller and two HWC free throws moved the lead to 55-41, but the Dragons would mount a comeback late in the game.
Saige Longie scored five straight points, McCloud made two free throws and Baker and Kenya Poitra made field goals to end an 11-0 Dragon run and cut the lead to 55-52. Keller stopped the Dragon momentum with a two point bucket by Baker answered with a two and one and the lead was down to 57-56.
The Dragons had their chances late with a missed steal and layup, but Arnold sealed the game with two free throws as the Hornets claimed the 59-56 win.
Dockter led all players in the game with 15 points, with Arnold (12) and Neumiller (11) following closely. The Dragons were led by Baker's 13 and McCloud's 12.
St. John 52, HWC 42
Kaycee Desjarlais scored 24 second half points, and outscored the Hornets by three, helping the Woodchucks to a 10-point win in Harvey on Monday, February 12.
Arnold scored the first two points of the game, but the Woodchucks had four players with three or more points and finished the first on a 15-2 run to lead 15-5 after eight minutes.
Neumiller and Ella Monge scored the first four points of the second to pull HWC to within six, and the Hornets played solid ball for the rest of the half. Dockter's three pointer at the halfway point and a 7-2 finish by HWC to end the half pulled the Hornets to within two at 23-21. The Hornets were helped by a 6-for-8 effort from the charity stripe in the first half.
The second half belonged to Desjarlais. The 5'10" junior scored at will during the third quarter, scoring 15 of her team's 17 points. The Hornets kept things interesting in the first half of the quarter, taking a 26-25 lead on two free throws from Arnold. The Hornets led again at 28-27 and a Neumiller basket tied the game at 32. Desjarlais scored the final eight points of the quarter to give St. John a 40-32 lead after three.
Desjarlais continued to dominate in the final quarter, scoring nine of the Woodchucks' 12 points. A three from Aubree Jeanotte was the only other points, but were important as the Hornets had cut the lead to 45-38 at the four minute mark. Desjarlais scored the final four points for St. John, helping the visitors to a 52-42 win.
Desjarlais would score 27 points for the Woodchucks, as they moved to 15-6 on the season and 8-3 in Region 4. The Hornets were led by Neumiller with 14 points, and had three other players who scored eight points. HWC made 13-of-16 free throws, and committed just 12 turnovers to give them a chance to compete right down to the final horn.
