Buccaneers sail past Titans

• Hailee Farstveet

Press Photo by Dustin Monke Beach junior Hailee Farstveet, second from left, goes up for a shot over Dickinson Trinity junior Gretchen Weir, left, as Beach senior Morgan Nunberg, center, and Trinity juniors Rachel Jahner, front right, and Katelyn Grinsteinner look on during the Region 7 girls basketball game on Thursday at Knights of Columbus Activities Center.

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When Cydni Stedman’s number was called she answered, despite battling illness.

In fact, the Beach girls basketball team has battled a barrage of illnesses the past few weeks, including all-state junior point guard Hailee Farstveet and freshman starting guard Brooklyn Zachmann, who did not play.

Despite the illness, the Buccaneers used Stedman’s 18 points to defeat Region 7 opponent Dickinson Trinity 64-31 on Thursday at Knights of Columbus Activities Center.

“The kids are sick,” Beach head coach Bob Waldal said. “If you would have been in the locker room, you’d go, ‘Oh my.’ We have Hailee and Cydni coming down with illness.”

Not only did Stedman answer the call but Farstveet and junior guard Bailey Waldal responded in a big way.

The junior trio combined for 44 of Beach’s 64 points. Farstveet supplied 15 points, six rebounds, four steals and three assists. Bailey Waldal added 11 points and six rebounds.

“We just have a lot of chemistry,” Stedman said. “We’ve played since the eighth grade together.”

The game marks Beach’s first game since the holiday break.

Each team felt the effects of rust early on. Neither team shot especially well in the first half as Beach was 9 of 31 (29 percent) and Trinity was 5 of 26 (19 percent) from the field. Beach improved in the second half and shot 37 percent for the game while Trinity shot just 22 percent.

The Buccaneers (3-2), however, were dialed in from 3-point range, where they shot 10 of 22 (46 percent).

“Yeah, we were shooting pretty well,” Stedman said with a laugh.

“I think they got better as the game progressed,” Bob Waldal added.

Each team warmed up a little in the second half, but it was Beach that took the early advantage. The Buccaneers outscored Trinity 20-2 in the third quarter.

“Offensively in the third quarter, we didn’t attack, we didn’t do anything,” Trinity head coach Alysia Barman said. “We have to be able to attack the rim.

“Defensively, we have to step up. We need to be holding good teams to 10 to 12 points a quarter. We can’t be giving up 20 points a quarter.”

Trinity’s lone player in double figures was junior Allison Steffan with 12 points.

In their last three games, the Titans (2-3) have faced three formable opponents. They lost to No. 1-ranked Minot Ryan 69-24 on Dec. 21 and No. 8-ranked New Town 71-49 on Dec. 28 and most recently to Beach, who has won three in a row, is unranked and is receiving votes in the Class B poll.

“We just got outplayed,” Steffan said. “They outrebounded us, we weren’t boxing out and our communication died down. We need to stay strong in all of those things.”

Though Beach was in control for a majority of the game, Trinity was able to cut the deficit to 14-12 after back-to-back 3-pointers from Katelyn Grinsteinner and Rachel Jahner.

The Buccaneers responded with a 10-2 run, rebuilding their lead to 24-14. Kennedy Keator netted a pair of free throws to close out the scoring in the first half.

In the first four minutes, there were more fouls than total points between the two teams. The two teams had five points, while there were seven fouls called. But by the end of the first quarter, the Buccaneers held a 14-4 lead after putting together an 11-2 run in the final 2:41.

Beach visits Beulah at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

This was the first of three games in three days for the Titans, who play Minot Our Redeemer’s at 1 p.m. today and Fargo Oak Grove at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at the Shiloh Christian New Year Invitational.

“Right now we are too quiet, too complacent and we need to demand more,” Barman said.

Beach 14 24 44 64

Trinity 4 16 18 31

B: Cydni Stedman 18, Hailee Farstveet 15, Bailey Waldal 11, Chantel Fulton 5, Morgan Nunberg 5, Ashlynn Dietz 3, Kari Schmeling 3, Lateasha Lechler 2, Paige Rising 2.

T: Allison Steffan 12, Kennedy Keator 5, Katelyn Rummel 4, Katelyn Grinsteinner 3, Rachel Jahner 3, Jillian Stockert 2, Gretchen Weir 2.

3-pointers: B 10 (Farstveet 3, Waldal 2, Stedman 2, Dietz 1, Schmeling 1, Fulton 1), T 4 (Rummel 1, Jahner 1, Keator 1, Grinsteinner 1). Free throws: B 8-13, T 5-10. Total fouls: B 14, T 12. Rebounds: B 47 (Nunberg 8), T 37 (Jahner 5, Steffan 5, Weir 5). Assists: B 10 (Farstveet 3), T 3 (Jahner 3). Steals: B 9 (Farstveet 4), T 4 (Weir 2, Grinsteinner 2). Blocks: B 1 (Nunberg 1), T 2 (Weir 1, Alyson Schieno 1). Turnovers: B 10, T 17. Records: B 3-2, T 2-3.

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