The Official Newspaper for Foster County
The Official Newspaper for Foster County
Ruth Haugen of Griggs/Midkota fights for possession on this play with a Hatton-Northwood player.
A season of improvement for the Griggs/Midkota Titans came to an end at the District 4 Tournament in New Rockford, as they went 1-2 in their outings to finish the year at 8-15.
The Titans got out to a slow start in their opening round matchup with third seed NR-S on Friday, February 9, and fell to the Rockets, 44-32.
For the entire first half and part of the third quarter, just one player, Jessa Spickler, had points for G-M in the contest. She would lead the Titans with 19 points, including three of the team's four three-pointers. Ryan Johnson had seven points, all in the second half.
The Titans kicked it into a higher gear in the fourth quarter, scoring 21 points, which included 10 from Spickler.
Kaiya O'Connor had 15 points and Ava Peterson added 11 for the Rockets, playing without the services of standout Kelsie Belquist for the rest of the season after an injury sustained late in the season. Younger sister Emmie Belquist had nine points.
In Saturday's loser-out game, the Titans stayed afloat with a 46-28 win over Nelson County.
Kelsey Johnson scored 13 for G-M, while 11 points each came courtesy of Kylie Johnson and Vanessa Vollmer.
The Chargers' Brandi Lippert had seven points in their season-ending loss, hitting the finish line at 3-18 for the winter.
A spot in the Region 2 tournament in Devils Lake was up for grabs last Monday night, and the Hatton-Northwood Thunder were the team standing in the Titans' way.
And a Cinderella run for G-M was not to be, as they fell in 54-40 fashion and completed the year in heartbreaking fashion.
Ryan Johnson had 11 points and Spickler 10 in the finale, while H-N (14-8) had three double-digit nights by Elizabeth Pinke (18 points), Amara Howson (16) and McKenna Gader (12).
The Titans will lose just two seniors, Ryan Johnson and Brienna Ehlers, from this year's squad, so their potential trajectory could go up with another year's worth of on-court experience.
District 4 Girls Basketball
Tournament, New Rockford
First Round
NR-S 44, Griggs/Midkota 32
G-M 3 2 6 21 32
NR-S 12 13 7 12 44
G-M: Jessa Spickler 19, Ryan Johnson 7, Ruth Haugen 2, Kelsey Johnson 2, Vanessa Vollmer 2. Totals: 14 FG, 0-0 FT, 19 fouls. Three-pointers: Spickler 3, R. Johnson. Fouled out: Haugen.
NR-S: Kaiya O'Connor 15, Ava Peterson 11, Emmie Belquist 9, Addysen Fandrich 4, Katie Allmaras 3, Lora Wobbema 2. Totals: 15 FG, 10-18 FT, 7 fouls. Three-pointers: O'Connor 3, Allmaras.
Loser-Out
Griggs/Midkota 46, Nelson Co. 28
NC 5 10 4 9 28
G-M 9 14 18 5 46
G-M: Kelsey Johnson 13, Kylie Johnson 11, Vollmer 11, Haugen 6, Spickler 5. Totals: 20 FG, 3-8 FT, 16 fouls. Three-pointers: Kylie Johnson, Vollmer, Spickler.
Nelson Co.: Brandi Lippert 7, Kenley Blasey 5, Mya Luehring 4, Sydney Johnston 3, Cara Sateren 3, Bailey Flaagan 2, Rylee Flaagan 2, Nevaeh Huso 2. Totals: 12 FG, 2-9 FT, 9 fouls. Three-pointers: Lippert, Sateren.
Region Qualifier
Hatton-Northwood 54,
Griggs/Midkota 40
G-M 9 9 12 10 40
H-N 12 18 16 8 54
G-M: R. Johnson 11, Spickler 10, Kelsey Johnson 8, Kylie Johnson 6, Haugen 4, Zoey Zaun 1. Totals: 14 FG, 8-10 FT, 16 fouls. Three-pointers: R. Johnson 2, Spickler 2. Fouled out: Vollmer.
H-N: Elizabeth Pinke 18, Amara Howson 16, McKenna Gader 12, Trista Bilden 6, Thea Letcher 2. Totals: 19 FG, 13-18 FT, 10 fouls. Three-pointers: Howson 3.
