MAYVILLE — It took perhaps one more game than they would have preferred, but the Wildcats are heading to state.
“Yesterday was a really sad day,” Benson County girls’ basketball head coach Bryan Kenner said. “We were really disappointed. Today I told the girls, ‘We’re gonna get this done. I really believe it in my heart. We worked too hard not to.’”
Benson County, undefeated and ranked No. 1 for a large portion of the season, fell to Langdon Area/Munich in the Class B, Region 2 championship in Devils Lake on Thursday. So the Wildcats headed over to Mayville State University on Saturday for a state qualifier game against Maple River.
“One loss doesn’t define our season,” Kenner said. “Langdon played a heck of a game, and I think the pressure kind of got to us the first time, being in that region championship game. We missed some shots that we normally make. And I said, ‘Girls, we didn’t win 22 games and become a bad team overnight. We’ve just gotta regroup, play defense tomorrow.’”
In a do-or-die contest, the Wildcats (24-2) took down the Raiders (19-7) by a score of 69-57. Aubrey Kenner led Benson County with 24 points, while Lacie Fautsch and Kaitlyn Maddock each had 16.
“Oh my gosh, it feels amazing,” A. Kenner said. “We were in this game last year and we didn’t quite come out on the right end, but it just feels so good to redeem ourselves. And especially after Thursday, things did not go our way, so we knew we had to play great.”
For most of the first half, Benson County looked a little bit better, but Maple River hung around.
After an Adyson Hannig and-one to open the game for the Raiders, the Wildcats scored eight straight. Fautsch and Maddock both came out hot for Benson County. Hannig, who led Maple River with 22 points overall, had the Raiders’ first seven points of the night.
The Wildcats led 12-5, but it was quickly narrowed to a two-point game after a three by Violet Richman. Maddock hit a big three before the end of the first quarter to extend the lead to 17-12. She led Benson County with seven first-quarter points.
It was a cat-and-mouse game for much of the second quarter. The teams alternated baskets seven times, with Benson County maintaining a three-point advantage.
The Wildcats finally separated themselves with an 8-0 run. Kenner, the team’s leading scorer this season, didn’t score her first points of the game until 3:58 in the second quarter. She still had yet to find her groove, missing a pair of open three looks.
This was coming off of a 74-point performance over three games in the region tournament.
“She’s gonna get a lot of attention tonight,” B. Kenner said of his pregame message. “And I told Fautsch and Maddock, ‘You guys are gonna get great looks.’”
The dual threat of Fautsch and Maddock proved monumental early on for Benson County. Fautsch had eight points in the second quarter to take the individual team lead at halftime with 14. Maddock had 11 points in the first half.
“We knew we had to be locked in,” Fautsch said. “And without that, it’s never gonna work.”
The pesky Maple River had a 6-0 run near the end of the first half, but Benson County scored the final six points heading into halftime. The Wildcats squeaked out a double-digit lead, 39-28, at the end of the first half. Kenner and Addisyn Faul had six points each to add some support behind Fautsch and Maddock.
The pendulum of Benson County’s scoring swung in the third quarter. The production from Maddock and Fautsch slowed down, and they each committed their third foul with less than three minutes left. But Kenner got going. She had seven of the Wildcats’ first 10 points of the quarter, with the others coming on an Ella Fossen three.
“In the first half, we were a little on the nervous end because it’s a do-or-die game,” A. Kenner said. “But it was really just believing in our teammates and staying confident. And I’m so proud of my teammates today.”
Maple River fought back with six straight. The lead was as tight as seven points. But Maddock, quiet for most of the third quarter, swished a three right before the buzzer to bring Benson County’s lead back into double digits heading into the final period.
Fautsch got into deeper foul trouble in the fourth quarter, committing her fourth with 6:46 to go. Kenner hit a big shot to keep Benson County’s lead in double digits. But the Raiders went on a 6-0 run to make it 60-54, with the help of Richman’s second triple.
Fautsch re-entered during the final few minutes. She immediately got back to scoring, igniting a 6-0 run back in Benson County’s favor.
“I’m always trying to keep my head up and just keep working,” Fautsch said.
With 1:51 left, Maddock was charged with her fourth foul, and with 47.6 seconds to go, she fouled out. But the gap was insurmountable for Maple River by that point.
Kenner made 5-of-6 free throws in the fourth quarter, putting the final touches on a state clincher.
“I know people say this all the time; this group is really special,” B. Kenner said. “It’s tremendous.”
It was the final game of the day, so the Wildcats had a little bit longer than the teams in the previous play-in games to celebrate, take pictures and do postgame interviews.
“We’re all bought in,” A. Kenner said. “We all know our roles, and that’s the most important thing on our team.”
So, despite narrowly falling short of the region title, the Wildcats are going to state. They’ll compete at the Jamestown Civic Center from March 6-8.
There’s another team from the area that got to the state tournament through a qualifier game: last year’s Devils Lake Firebirds. They lost in the region championship, too, and ended up winning the whole thing in Class A.
“Coach [Justin] Klein texted me from Devils Lake the other night and said, ‘Hey, we were in a play-in game and we got here,’” B. Kenner said. “And so that gave me some encouragement.”
Benson County will be the No. 4 seed and face No. 5-seeded LaMoure-Litchville/Marion to start. LA/M is the No. 6 seed and will face No. 3-seeded Central McLean.
“We always gotta stay confident,” A. Kenner said. “But I’m just hoping for the best, and I’m so excited that we’re still playing basketball.”
Class A news
In one of the Class A state qualifier games earlier in the day, Thompson beat Northern Cass 64-41. Kya Hurst and Addy Sage had 26 and 17 points, respectively, for the Tommies.
Carrington also came up with a win after losing to Devils Lake. The Cardinals beat Kindred 48-44 with 25 points from Edyn Hoornaert.
With that, seeding was locked in place for the Class A tournament. The defending-champion Firebirds are the No. 1 seed. South Prairie-Max, ranked No. 1 for the entire season and last year’s runner-up, is the No. 2 seed. The Royals took a stunning loss to Rugby in the region tournament but won their play-in game on Saturday.
Three of the eight teams in the Class A state tournament are from Region 2, with Devils Lake, Thompson and Carrington. The Tommies and Cardinals are the No. 5 and 6 seeds at state, respectively.
Devils Lake’s first-round matchup will be against No. 8-seeded Dickinson Trinity.
