Beach regroups, reaches 5th-place game
BISMARCK — After falling to Kenmare in the first round of the Class B state tournament on Thursday, previously-unbeaten Beach could have rolled over.
- Jill Rising
More...
BISMARCK — After falling to Kenmare in the first round of the Class B state tournament on Thursday, previously-unbeaten Beach could have rolled over.
The perfect record was tarnished, the 51-game win streak was over and the chances of a second consecutive state title were gone.
But even though perfection was no longer possible, Brittney Dietz wasn’t quite ready to cash in her chips.
Dietz, a 2010 all-state first-team selection and a 2011 Miss Basketball candidate, erupted for 23 points and the Buccaneers rolled to a 65-52 win over Washburn in consolation action Friday afternoon at the Bismarck Civic Center.
“We’re still a little bummed out,” Dietz said of the first-round loss. “We didn’t really play our best and we know that wasn’t us played against (Kenmare). We just had to show everyone who we were and how we can play.”
With the win, the Buccaneers advance to Saturday’s fifth-place game against Central Valley. Tipoff is set for 1:45 p.m. The Cardinals will play Watford City in the seventh-place game, which is set to tip at noon.
After scoring just five points on Thursday, Dietz came out firing against the Cardinals. She racked up seven points in the opening quarter, which helped Beach to a 16-12 lead.
Dietz and fellow senior forward Jill Rising wasted no time establishing a post presence, as they combined for eight points in the paint in the first 8 minutes.
Washburn guard Spanky Clayton gave the Buccaneers fits early on, as she accounted for all of her team’s first-quarter points, including a pair of deep 3-pointers. Beach’s defense stiffened, however, and held the junior to just five points for the rest of the game.
“(Clayton) is quite an athlete,” Beach coach Bob Waldal said. “She’s fast, she’s quick and they really depend on her. We put our quickest kids on her throughout the night. I hope she’d tired. We gave it everything we had on her.”
The Buccaneers opened the second quarter on an 8-2 run to push their lead to double digits. But Washburn refused to go away, as back-to-back Cardinal layups made it 24-18 midway through the quarter.
Dietz and Brooke Davidson both connected from beyond the 3-point arc to give the momentum back to Beach, and Waldal’s squad took a 32-20 lead into the locker room.
Washburn’s Cori Moberg opened the second half with a layup to trim the deficit to 10 points, but Beach guard Abby Weinreis scored the next five points to silence any thoughts of a second-half comeback by the Cardinals. Weinreis joined Dietz in double-digit scoring with 14 points in the contest.
Washburn never threatened again, as Beach gradually pulled away for the remainder of the half. The Buccaneers used solid second-half defense to preserve the win, as they forced 14 of Washburn’s 21 turnovers after the break.
When it was all said and done, Waldal said he was extremely happy with his team’s ability to bounce back from its first defeat since the 2008-09 season.
“They could have had an ‘I don’t care’ attitude,” Waldal said. “You know what? We don’t want to be like that, so high five to them.”
Washburn 12 20 27 42
Beach 16 32 42 65
W: Spanky Clayton 17, Cori Moberg 13, Samantha Schell 6, Allison Weisgarber 2, Samantha Tweeten 2, Kennedy Retterath 2.
B: Brittney Dietz 23, Abby Weinreis 14, Brooke Davidson 6, Bailey Waldal 4, LaCee Vollum 4, Jill Rising 4, Hailee Farstveet 3, Kiffin Howard 3, Kelcee Dykins 2, Cyndi Stedman 2.
3-pointers: W 2 (Clayton 2), B 5 (Weinreis 2, Davidson 2, Dietz 1). Free throws: W 10-18, B 12-19. Total fouls: W 13, B 18. Fouled out: None. Rebounds: W 31 (Schell 8), B 32 (Weinreis 6, Dietz 6). Assists: W 8 (Schell 3), B 16 (Weinreis 6). Steals: W 3 (Schell 2), B 12 (Rising 3). Blocks: None. Turnovers: W 21, B 11.
Tags: beach buccaneers, class b state tournament, washburn cardinals, sports, preps, basketball, updates
More from around the web
RSS Feeds