Bucs’ title hopes sunk
No. 2 Kenmare downs top-ranked Beach, snaps 51-game win streak in Class B state tournament openerBISMARCK — It had been more than two years since Beach walked off the court without a victory. But, as the old saying goes, all good things must come to an end.
- Seniors can only watch
- Abby Weinreis
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BISMARCK — It had been more than two years since Beach walked off the court without a victory. But, as the old saying goes, all good things must come to an end.
Kenmare senior Katie King scored 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and the No. 2-ranked Honkers handed the No. 1-ranked Buccaneers their first loss in 51 games, winning 48-36 in the first round of the Class B girls basketball tournament at the Bismarck Civic Center.
“I told (the team), I said ‘you’ve handled winning exceptionally,’” Beach coach Bob Waldal said. “Now is our turn to handle losing. It’s only a game, but you feel bad about it of course.”
After battling with the Honkers (25-1) in the opening minutes, things began to unravel for the defending state champions.
A layup by Ashley Barnhart ignited a 14-4 Kenmare run that closed out the first half. Beach senior Brittney Dietz, the team’s leading scorer with 16.1 points per game, was held scoreless in the first two periods and her team went into the locker room trailing 21-10.
The Buccaneers (24-1) struggled mightily from the floor in the first half, shooting just 4-of-25. That mark was even worse from beyond the 3-point arc, where Waldal’s squad connected just once in 13 attempts.
“That’s maybe kind of the rust of a week off,” Waldal said. “We just couldn’t get it rolling. I saw our girls shooting a lot of 3-pointers, but they were NBA 3-pointers.”
Kenmare continued to extend its lead in the third quarter and went up by as many as 16 midway through the period. A 3-pointer by Beach’s Abby Weinreis started an 8-2 Buccaneer run that trimmed the gap back to 10 points, but back-to-back baskets by King and Alexis Munson pushed the Honkers’ lead back to 36-21 at the end of the quarter.
“Those are the first two we want to go to on any offensive possession,” Kenmare coach Jason Schwarz said. “When we’ve got a lead, we want to make sure we keep that lead by getting easy baskets.”
The Honkers face the winner of Carrington and Washburn at 5:30 p.m. today in the semifinals. Beach faces the loser of that game at noon in the consolation semifinals.
Weinreis was the only Beach player to reach double figures. She finished with 15 points.
The Buccaneers shot just 27.5 percent (10 of 28) from the field and was 17.4 percent (4 of 23) from 3-point range.
Munson, a sophomore, led all scorers with 17 points, including a 7-of-9 effort from the floor.
Dietz finally got on the scoreboard with a breakaway layup in the opening minute of the fourth quarter. That started a 13-4 scoring burst. The scoring run was capped off by a 3-point play by Weinreis, which got the Buccaneers within six.
But, as she had all afternoon, King provided an answer. She knocked down shot in the paint to give the momentum back to the Honkers, and Kenmare scored the next seven points to extinguish the comeback attempt.
“(Beach) is a second-half team,” Schwarz said. “They turn up the volume, as far as defensive intensity goes. But we were able to weather the storm, so to speak, and not let them get on that big run.”
Kenmare’s win over the Buccaneers avenges its only loss of the season. Beach handed the Honkers a 47-42 loss in a non-district game at Beach on Jan. 7. Schwarz said the previous loss to Waldals’ team provided plenty of extra incentive entering the tournament.
“You need all the extra little motivation you can get in these kinds of games,” Schwarz said. “You try and draw off of that a little bit. Playing them early in the year was certainly a huge key for us in this game today.”
Beach 6 10 21 36
Kenmare 11 21 36 48
B: Abby Weinreis 15, Kiffin Howard 6, Brittney Dietz 5, Brooke Davidson 5, Hailee Farstveet 4, Jill Rising 1.
K: Alexis Munson 17, Katie King 14, Kortni Miller 12, Ashley Barnhart 4, Erika Lemere 1.
3-pointers: B 4 (Weinreis 2, Davidson 1, Dietz 1), K 4 (Munson 3, Miller 1). Free throws: B 4-7, K 6-13. Total fouls: B 14, K 6. Fouled out: Dietz. Rebounds: B 32 (Rising 12), K 31 (King 10). Assists: B 6 (Weinreis 2), K 12 (King 4, Miller 4). Steals: B 10 (Weinreis 3), K 9 (Barnhart 3). Blocks: B 3 (Dietz 2), K 2 (King 1). Turnovers: B 14, K 15.
Tags: beach buccaneers, class b state tournament, sports, preps, basketball
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