Sixth-seeded Bulldogs blow out Mott-Regent

• Morgan Woodley

Press Photo by Royal McGregor Bowman County junior Morgan Woodley, left, puts up a shot against Mott-Regent senior Marah Friez on Friday during the first round of the District 13 girls basketball tournament at Solberg Gymnasium in Bowman.

Talk about it

BOWMAN — Bowman County girls basketball coach Pam Fisher is completely comfortable using the No. 6 seed as motivation.

So are her players.

The sixth-seeded Bulldogs posted strong second and third quarters en route to a 70-50 win over No. 3 seed Mott-Regent during the first round of the District 13 Tournament on Friday at Solberg Gymnasium.

“We were really happy with the way we played tonight,” Fisher said. “I think the No. 6 seed is a motivation of sorts. We are better than a No. 6 seed and it is something to prove.”

Bowman County (11-9) finished the regular season with back-to-back losses, scoring an average of 36 points. The worries of scoring more than 40 points went away in a hurry.

After shooting 14 of 29 (48 percent) in the first half, the Bulldogs never let up. Bowman County finished 29 of 61 (48 percent) from the field including a 22- and 20-point second and third quarters, respectively.

“We just moved the ball well,” Bowman County junior forward Morgan Woodley said. “We came out firing and we were just ready to finish the game. I wasn’t really paying attention to the score. I was just playing the game.”

Woodley averaged 7.5 points per game during the regular season but she upped her performance at districts to score a season-high 18 points. She also had a game-high five steals. Woodley smiled at the thought of being the No. 6 seed.

“We are going to use the No. 6 seed to our advantage in every game we play for the rest of the season,” Woodley said.

The Bulldogs built a 34-26 lead at halftime, but their shooting effort wasn’t done there. Woodley and Kaitlyn Dix combined for 15 of team’s 20 points in the third quarter. Dix ended with 15 points and seven rebounds. Kit Miller supplied nine points in the first half and finished with 16 points and seven rebounds.

“We knew our strength against Mott was going inside for our post players,” Fisher said. “It worked really well for us.”

Though the Wildfire shot 21 of 53 (40 percent) from the field, it could never gain any ground in the second half. Junior Abby Honeyman had a team-high 14 points, while senior Naomi Meier added 12 points and six rebounds.

“Bowman just caught on fire on us,” Mott-Regent head coach Brad Greff said. “We started making shots, but they were making shots on the other end. We just couldn’t close the gap on them.”

Bowman County plays No. 2 seed New England in the semifinals at 7 p.m. today while Mott-Regent (6-13) will play the loser of today’s semifinal game top-seeded Beach and No. 4 seed Heart River at 4 p.m. Monday.

“I think this win gives us a lot of confidence,” Woodley said. “We use positive games to our advantage really well.”

BC 12 34 53 70

MR 16 26 38 50

BC: Morgan Woodley 18, Kit Miller 16, Kaitlyn Dix 15, Kaylee Heinrich 8, Ariana Zook 7, Haley Sabe 4, Brittany Hansey 2.

MR: Abby Honeyman 14, Naomi Meier 12, McKayla Roll 9, Marah Friez 8, Alyssa Olin 7.

3-pointers: BC 3 (Dix 2, Woodley 1), MR 5 (Roll 3, Olin 1, Friez 1). Free throws: BC 9-12, MR 3-6. Total fouls: BC 14, MR 11. Rebounds: BC 36 (Dix 7, Miller 7), MR 26 (Meier 6). Assists: BC 23 (Zook 7), MR 11 (Olin 6). Steals: BC 14 (Woodley 5), MR 12 (Olin 4). Blocks: BC 1 (Woodley 1), MR 2 (Honeyman 1, Friez 1). Turnovers: BC 14, MR 21.

Tags: high school basketball, bowman county bulldogs, district 13 tournament, sports, preps