Photo by Noah Clooten
Langdon Area/Munich (18-7), unranked during the regular season, won the Class B, Region 2 championship in Devils Lake this week.
No. 3 Benson County (23-2) lost in the title game, moving to a Saturday state qualifier in Mayville.
The Cardinals and Wildcats were the No. 1 seed from their respective districts after winning their district tournaments. They each beat up on the No. 4 seed from the opposite district on Monday. Benson County took down St. John 66-38, and LA/M beat Griggs/Midkota 59-33.
Aubrey Kenner had one of her best games of the season for the Wildcats, scoring 34 points. Ella Fossen, one of the Wildcats’ most valuable players on defense, added 11 points. Lacie Fautsch had 10. Benson County led by a whopping 19-2 after the first quarter.
In the Cardinals’ quarterfinal win, Avery Lorenz scored 23 and Meredith Romfo had 11. They also had a big lead early, up 17-6 after one quarter.
Benson County had similarly little trouble on Tuesday, beating Hatton/Northwood 62-31 to advance to the region championship. Kenner had 23 points and Kaitlyn Maddock had 19.
LA/M upset No. 7 May-Port-C-G, the defending champion, 51-44 to advance to Thursday’s final. The Cardinals trailed 16-8 after the first quarter and 24-18 at halftime. But they outscored the Patriots 18-7 in the third quarter to take a five-point lead.
Hilary Haaven led LA/M with 19 points, while Lorenz had 15 and Romfo had 12. It was also the 500th career win for Cardinals head coach Rob Scherr.
And so the region championship commenced on Thursday at the Devils Lake Sports Center. During the regular season, the Wildcats beat the Cardinals 63-54.
But LA/M jumped out to a sizable early lead, 19-8. The Cardinals were hanging on to a three-point lead at the end of the second and third quarters. It was a one-point game with three minutes left in the fourth quarter. But LA/M held on for a 51-42 victory.
Kenner had 17 points for Benson County, and Maddock had 10. Romfo led LA/M with 19 points after Lorenz exited with an injury.
It was the sixth consecutive postseason win for the Cardinals, who went undefeated in district play during the regular season despite losing seven games overall. It was just the second loss of the season for the Wildcats, who started the campaign 18-0.
Kenner and Maddock were named to the all-region team for Benson County. Lorenz and Romfo were honored for LA/M. Also on the all-region team was New Rockford-Sheyenne’s Ava Peterson. Benson County head coach Bryan Kenner was named the Region 2B Coach of the Year.
LA/M is now going to the Class B state tournament in Jamestown. It begins next Thursday and goes through Saturday.
Benson County, on the other hand, will need to win one more game to make it to state. The Wildcats are set to face Maple River, the third-place team from Region 1, on Saturday in Mayville at 7 p.m. If they win, they’ll join the Cardinals in the state tournament. If they lose, their season is over.
