The Official Newspaper for Foster County
The Official Newspaper for Foster County
Kaydence VanRay of Carrington and Grafton's Addison Fredericksen battle for position on this shot. Fredericksen led the Spoilers with 12 points, but it was VanRay's Cards who would take a 57-49 victory at GHS, in the first Division A, Region 2 contest for both teams.
Kacie Rexin, shown with the ball battling a Grafton defender, hit three treys and finished with 11 points.
Maybe their new classification isn't so daunting after all.
It's a very brief sample size, but the Carrington girls basketball team made it one-for-one in the Division A era with a 57-49 shocker of sorts at Grafton Thursday night, November 30 for their first win in Region 2 play.
The Spoilers were ranked third in the state in the inaugural preseason Division A coaches' poll, sitting behind Thompson and Wahpeton.
To end up on top, Coach Andy Braaten focused on limiting the main cause of their two-point squeaker over NR-S in the first game of the season, the turnover bug.
"Our girls were eager to show we're a better ball-handling team than what we showed in the opener," Braaten said. "We reduced our turnover numbers down to six [against Grafton] from 27."
Lacking in size down low, the Cards were facing the Spoiler height advantage in the person of 6'1" forward Addison Fredericksen.
"Our post defense was certainly challenged, and the girls stepped up with some gritty stops in the second half when Grafton made their run," Braaten said.
For the first half, CHS held Fredericksen in check with just two points, but weathered 10 points from the senior in the final 16 minutes.
Trinity Parsons also ignited the Grafton comeback with 10 points, eight of those in the second half. Savannah Blackcloud had seven points, all in the first two quarters, before fouling out, and Summer Moberg also tallied seven.
While shooting 19-for-58 for 32 percent for the game, the Cards took 29 attempts from beyond the arc, hitting eight of those.
Three of those treys came from senior Kacie Rexin (11 points), and Olivia Threadgold and Isabel Wendel each were co-leaders in the points column with 12. Threadgold added two treys, and led the Cards with four steals, while Wendel's eight boards paced the CHS rebounding efforts.
"Kacie's threes really helped us build the lead," said Braaten. "Olivia also played a great game on both ends of the floor."
Madison Johnson added eight points and seven rebounds, to go along with a team-high five assists along with three steals.
Carrington (2-0, 1-0 Region 2) hosts their end of two regional home-and-home series starting with Devils Lake on Tuesday, December 12, and Thompson on Friday, December 15, in the East Gym. The game with the Firebirds is an A-B contest starting at 6 p.m., and the Tommies will be a 4 p.m. A-B-C start time.
Region 2 Girls' Basketball
Carrington 57, Grafton 49
at Grafton
Cgtn. 17 18 13 9 57
Grafton 9 9 20 11 49
Carrington: Olivia Threadgold 12, Isabel Wendel 12, Kacie Rexin 11, Edyn Hoornaert 9, Madison Johnson 8, Kaydence VanRay 3, Kenadie Pazdernik 2. Totals: 19 FG, 11-13 FT, 9 fouls. Three-pointers: Rexin 3, Threadgold 2, Hoornaert, Johnson, VanRay.
Grafton: Addison Fredericksen 12, Trinity Parsons 10, Savannah Blackcloud 7, Summer Moberg 7, Paityn Ziegelmann 6, Kate LeClerc 5, Annelise Presteng 2. Totals: 20 FG, 4-7 FT, 16 fouls. Three-pointers: Parsons, Blackcloud, LeClerc. Fouled out: Blackcloud.
Carrington Additional Stats
Rebounds: Wendel 8, Johnson 7, Hoornaert and Threadgold 5, Rexin 3, VanRay 2.
Assists: Johnson 5, Wendel 4, Threadgold 2, Rexin and Brynn Smith 1.
Steals: Threadgold 4, Johnson and Wendel 3, Smith 2.
Field Goal Percentage: Threadgold, Rexin (4-for-8, 50%)
