With the Lake Region State College basketball teams traveling to Wahpeton on Sunday, the women’s team got back in the win column while the men’s team had their brief two-game winning streak disrupted.
The women toughed out a comeback victory over second-place North Dakota State College of Science. The Royals also upset the Wildcats in Devils Lake back on Jan. 24.
LRSC trailed for most of the game, and though it stayed mostly within striking distance, it was losing by as many as 11 in the fourth quarter. The Royals outscored the Wildcats 21-7 in the fourth quarter to take home a 61-57 win. Tiyahna Trottier hit a go-ahead three, while Kyla Fitzgerald nabbed a steal and made some crucial free throws down the stretch.
Arden Faulkner also had two three-pointers off the bench in the first quarter, keeping the Royals in it from the beginning. Trottier was LRSC’s leading scorer with 13, while Anisah Wolf and Nicole Lillard each had 11. Kelsey Crossan was the Royals’ leading rebounder with six, despite only putting up four in the points column.
LRSC is 17-9 overall and 10-7 in Mon-Dak Athletic Conference games. That puts the team three games behind NDSCS in the standings with four regular-season contests left to play.
The men’s team, meanwhile, couldn’t keep its newfound surge going on the road. After ending a seven-game losing streak with a triumphant win over Dakota College at Bottineau on Feb. 4., the Royals squeaked out an 84-83 victory over Williston State College last Wednesday. But they lost to the Wildcats 82-61 on Sunday, bringing their overall record to 8-18 and conference record to 4-13.
Noah Bonick led with 14 points, while Blessed Barhayiga was right behind him with 13. Ginuwine Tropnas’ nine rebounds were the most of any Royal. LRSC was still within seven points at the half, but got outscored 49-35 in the second half. It trailed in shooting percentage, 45.7 to 39.2, and only went 2-of-9 on three-point attempts.
The Royals are in seventh place in the conference, a half-game ahead of last-place Bismarck State College.
Both teams will travel to United Tribes Technical College on Thursday before returning home on Sunday to play Miles Community College. The junior college regular season is winding down.
Joseph “Mojo” Hill is a reporter covering Lake Region sports for the Devils Lake Journal. Contact him on Twitter @mojohill22 or at jhill@devilslakejournal.com for any tips, questions or story ideas.
