Photo via NDHSAA
For the first time since 1987 — and the first time ever under the Leeds/Maddock co-op — Benson County is the champion of Class B girls’ basketball.
The Wildcats finished a 26-2 season with a championship at the Jamestown Civic Center on Saturday. They were originally seeded No. 4, after losing in the region championship to Langdon Area/Munich but winning a state qualifier game over Maple River. They were undefeated and ranked No. 1 for the majority of the regular season.
Before the tournament, head coach Bryan Kenner had been given a little encouragement from Devils Lake head coach Justin Klein, whose team lost its region title in 2024 but ended up winning the Class A state tournament. Coincidentally, that was also the Firebirds’ first championship since 1987. Devils Lake fell a little short this year, but the Wildcats ended up following a similar path the Firebirds did last season.
“It’s unbelievable,” Coach Kenner told Max O’Neill of the Jamestown Sun after Saturday’s game. “We joke and dream about stuff like this and it happens like now. It’s wild, but you can’t take it for granted. It’s so hard to get here that you gotta just enjoy it.”
Aubrey Kenner was named the state tournament MVP, while she and Kaitlyn Maddock both made the all-tournament team. Maddock fittingly passed 1,000 career points in the final win.
After winning the Lake Region Girls’ Invitational in December, A. Kenner said that “We all have this goal of making it to state, and maybe even winning a championship. And I honestly think we can do it. And we’re gonna keep working at it until we get there.”
Now, they have. It’s not just a preseason tournament championship or a district championship, but an actual Class B state title.
First, Benson County beat No. 5-seeded LaMoure-Litchville/Marion on Thursday, 54-30. Kenner had 21 points and Maddock had 11. The Wildcats led all the way through in a stress-free victory to get the tournament started.
Friday’s semifinal game brought more of a challenge. Benson County faced the No. 1 seed, Lewis & Clark – Berthold. The Wildcats trailed 21-11 at the end of the first quarter and 32-18 at halftime. But a 25-5 third quarter in their favor swung the pendulum in the opposite direction. Up five at the end of the third quarter, they held on to win 59-51 and reach the state championship game.
Kenner had 18 points in that game, while Maddock had 15 and Addisyn Faul scored 14.
Once again, Benson County had to grind out of a deficit in the title contest. It was down 16-11 after the first quarter and 28-25 at halftime. The Wildcats squeaked ahead 42-40 at the end of the third quarter, then put the hammer down in the final period and won 59-56.
Maddock scored 26 points, including a triple that gave her 1,001 for her career. She’s only a sophomore. Kenner, a junior, reached 1,000 points back during the Lake Region Girls’ Invitational. The champion Wildcats are only losing one senior to graduation this year, returning key players like freshmen Lacie Fautsch and Faul.
“I’m just so happy,” Maddock told the Jamestown Sun. “It’s amazing. This is something you always dream of, both of them, reaching 1,000 points and winning a state championship. So both of them in one night is pretty amazing.”
Benson County had most recently been to the Class B state tournament in 2013. Its only prior championship came in 1987, when it was a co-op of Esmond and Maddock. The town of Maddock reached the state tournament with its own team back in 1977.
The LA/M Cardinals, who, remember, beat this Benson County team in the region championship, finished fifth at state. Seeded No. 6, they lost 60-32 to No. 3-seeded Central McLean in the first round. The Cardinals beat Grant County/Mott-Regent 66-57 in a consolation semifinal game, then came out with a 57-56 win over Linton/HMB in the fifth-place game.
LA/M’s Meredith Romfo joined Kenner and Maddock on the all-tournament team.
The Wildcats, with their first championship of the century under their belt, are primed to be back in the mix next year with Kenner being a senior, Maddock a junior and Fautsch a sophomore, among all the other returners.
