North Star’s Annabelle Staus and Claire Jorde compete in the Lake Region Invitational earlier this season. (Photo by Mojo Hill)
North Star and New Rockford-Sheyenne played close games against higher seeds on the first day of the District 4 girls’ basketball tournament.
But North Star, NR-S and Nelson County all took losses Friday in Maddock. Host, No. 1 seed and No. 4-ranked Benson County had a first-round bye, while the three other teams moved to the consolation bracket. Langdon Area/Munich advanced to the semifinals.
No. 5 seed Nelson County (6-14) started the evening by falling 66-49 to No. 4 seed St. John (9-10). Chargers sophomore Kenley Blasey scored a game-high 25 points, but St. John got 16 each from Aubree Fox and Kalli Keplin. Peyton Desjarlais and Jaydee McCloud also reached double figures.
Aubree Christinson was second on Nelson County with 11 points.
The Chargers were within three after the first quarter and seven at the half. St. John had a double-digit lead by the end of the third quarter.
Because Warwick dropped out, Nelson County gets a bye in the loser-out round. The Chargers don’t have to play Saturday, automatically moving to a region qualifier game on Monday.
In the second game on Friday, No. 7 seed NR-S (4-16) lost by only nine, 45-36, to No. 2 seed and defending region champion LA/M (16-4). The Cardinals led just 21-17 at halftime. It was still a game after three quarters, 32-26.
Rockets senior Ava Peterson scored a game-high 18 points. Emmie Belquist, daughter of head coach Elliott Belquist, added nine. LA/M was fueled by 15 each from Hilary Haaven and Erika Bakke.
Despite never outscoring NR-S by more than four points in any individual quarter, the Cardinals moved to Saturday’s semifinals.
In the final of three games played Friday, No. 6 seed North Star (8-11) went neck-and-neck with No. 3 seed North Prairie (11-9). The Bearcats led by seven at the half and six after three quarters but ended up falling 45-42.
North Star had an 11-3 lead after the first quarter. It was outscored by exactly one point in each of the second and third quarters. North Prairie took a commanding 17-8 fourth quarter to squeak out the win.
Eighth-grader Blake Nicholas led North Star with a game-high 19 points. Senior Claire Weber added nine. Claire Jorde and Genevieve Ahlberg each sc0red five. While the Bearcats had eight players in the scoring column, the Cougars got all 45 from five players. Olivia Berginski had 16, while three others each had eight.
The 45-42 final was reminiscent of the score when these teams met during the regular season: a 47-44 North Prairie win.
But the Bearcats’ efforts were unrewarded. They’ll now face NR-S in a loser-out game Saturday. The winner moves to a region qualifier, while the loser’s season will be done.
During the regular season, North Star beat NR-S 41-36.
In the first semifinal on Saturday, Benson County will get St. John. The Wildcats, who were undefeated in district play, beat St. John 68-47 during the regular season.
LA/M squares off with North Prairie for a spot in the district championship. The Cardinals won that matchup 55-24 during the regular season.
If Benson County and LA/M both take care of business, the district championship would be a rematch of last year’s region championship.
The loser-out game is set for 2 p.m. Saturday in Maddock, with the two semifinal games to follow.
