Lacie Fautsch (30) / Photo by Noah Clooten

Lacie Fautsch (30) / Photo by Noah Clooten

Benson County girls’ basketball, ranked No. 1 since December, slid down two spots in Monday’s polls.

The Wildcats lost 68-59 to unranked TGU in their regular season finale. It ended an undefeated season, with their record at 18-1 heading into this weekend’s district tournament.

So, Benson County came in at No. 3 this week. Kenmare/Bowbells and Central McLean, the previous No. 2 and 3, respectively, moved up to No. 1 and 2. K/M received 20 of the 21 first-place votes. The only other first-place vote went to Benson County, which received 157 points compared to No. 2 Central McLean’s 185.

Just a week ago, the Wildcats received 13 first-place votes. That lone loss was enough for almost all of the voters to change their minds. K/M is 17-2, while Central McLean has an identical record to Benson County at 18-1.

TGU, the team that upset Benson County and has a more-than-respectable 14-5 record, received votes but remained unranked. Langdon Area/Munich (12-7) also received votes.

On the boys’ side, New Rockford-Sheyenne moved from No. 9 to No. 8. The Rockets’ record is 11-2; they beat Griggs/Midkota 71-57 after a surprising loss to May-Port-C-G.

In Class A, the Devils Lake boys and girls stayed at No. 2 and 3 in their respective polls. The boys received seven first-place votes compared to Kindred’s 14. The Firebirds and Vikings are less than two weeks away from their Feb. 22 meeting. Four Winds/Minnewaukan, which has quietly been playing well recently, was the only unranked team to receive votes in the boys’ poll.

The girls’ poll has a new No. 2: Valley City, which recently beat Devils Lake 64-56. The Hi-Liners were previously No. 4. Carrington, which was ranked No. 2 last week, lost 62-39 to then-unranked Thompson and fell all the way out of the top five. Thompson slid up to a tie for the No. 4 spot with Kindred. Thompson and Kindred each have 31 points, only seven behind Devils Lake.

Class A boys’ basketball

  1. Kindred (14) – 98 points (Previous: 1)
  2. Devils Lake (7) – 91 points (Previous: 2)
  3. Shiloh Christian – 63 points (Previous: 4)
  4. Killdeer – 35 points (Previous: 3)
  5. Thompson – 27 points (Previous: 5)

Received votes: Four Winds/Minnewaukan

Class A girls’ basketball

  1. South Prairie-Max (20) – 104 points (Previous: 1)
  2. Valley City (1) – 83 points (Previous: 4)
  3. Devils Lake – 38 points (Previous: 3)
  4. Kindred – 31 points (Previous: 5)
  5. (T4) Thompson – 31 points (Previous: NR)

Received votes: Carrington, Turtle Mountain, Bottineau

Class B boys’ basketball

  1. Wilton/Wing (19) – 208 points (Previous: 1)
  2. North Border (1) – 174 points (Previous: 3)
  3. Westhope/Newburg (1) – 167 points (Previous: 5)
  4. Bishop Ryan – 144 points (Previous: 2)
  5. Our Redeemer’s – 136 points (Previous: 4)
  6. Hankinson – 97 points (Previous: 6)
  7. Midway/Minto – 89 points (Previous: 7)
  8. New Rockford-Sheyenne – 56 points (Previous: 9)
  9. Oakes – 37 points (Previous: 10)
  10. Velva – 21 points (Previous: NR)

Received votes: Central McLean, Glen Ullin/Hebron, Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood, Griggs/Midkota

Class B girls’ basketball

  1. Kenmare/Bowbells (20) – 209 points (Previous: 2)
  2. Central McLean – 185 points (Previous: 3)
  3. Benson County (1) – 157 points (Previous: 1)
  4. Berthold – 154 points (Previous: 4)
  5. Bowman County – 127 points (Previous: 5)
  6. Tioga – 99 points (Previous: 7)
  7. May-Port-C-G – 72 points (Previous: 6)
  8. LaMoure-Litchville/Marion – 70 points (Previous: 8)
  9. Washburn – 38 points (Previous: 9)
  10. Maple River – 20 points (Previous: NR)

Received votes: TGU, Linton/HMB, Langdon Area/Munich

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