Defensive Majettes dismantle Midgets

• Ali Moody

Courtesy Photo by Chris Aarhus Dickinson High junior Ali Moody battles Minot High’s Holly Johnson during a West Region girls basketball game Saturday at the Minot Municipal Auditorium.

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MINOT — Minot High girls basketball coach Todd Magnuson said his team needs to play strong defense to win tight games this season.

But combine that smothering defense with a solid shooting night and it’s a recipe for a blowout.

The Majettes began each half with 13-0 runs and trounced Dickinson High 68-29 Saturday in a West Region game at the Minot Municipal Auditorium.

“I thought our pressure was really good,” Magnuson said. “It really threw them off, they got rattled.”

Minot (3-2, 2-2 West) threw full-court pressure at the Midgets and held Dickinson to 2-of-27 shooting in the first half. The Majettes went into halftime with a 37-9 lead.

“We just panicked and they put some pressure on us,” Dickinson head coach Dan Pender said. “We got nervous and out of sorts and wouldn’t run our press break. They get out of sorts and that’s what happens.”

Meanwhile, the Majettes were sharing the wealth on the offensive end. Nine of the 11 Majettes who saw action scored in the game.

Senior forward Holly Johnson led the Majettes with 18 points, hitting 4-of-9 3-pointers. Johnson, an all-state selection last season, sat out the first three games of the season with an injured foot but said she felt fine playing her second game in two days.

Minot’s Loni Bryantt joined Johnson in double figures with 10 points and Rachel Schroeder scored 10 to lead the Midgets.

The Majettes’ largest lead was 44 points in the second half. Magnuson called off the full-court press after halftime, but the Majettes continued the defensive intensity.

“It was just a snowball effect,” Pender said. “We’d turn it over and when we had wide-open shots, we were just plain nervous and the shot is short.”

D: Rachel Schroeder 10, Riana Cooper 9, Sydney Gangl 4, Taylor Cooper 2, Ali Moody 2, Avery Privratsky 2.

M: Holly Johnson 18, Loni Bryantt 10, Andie Hankla 9, Kim Bahl 7, Morgan Milbrath 7, Sierra Duttenhefer 6, Jamie VanderVorste 4, Ashley Lucy 3, Jayd Eggert 3.

Halftime: M 37-9. 3-pointers: D 4-18 (Riana Cooper 3, Gangl 1), M 7-24 (Johnson 4, Bryantt 2, Lucy 1). Free throws: D 7-11, 14-24 Total fouls: D 16, M 14. Rebounds: D 45 (T. Cooper 6), M 40 (Johnson 5). Assists D 6 (Moody, Privratsky 2), M 4 (Lucy 2). Blocks D 1 (Schroeder 1), M 0; Steals D 7 (Mackee Hoffman 3), M 16 (Hankla, Eggert 3). Turnovers: D 23, M 11.

Tags: high school basketball, dickinson midgets, minot majettes, sports, midgets