Midgets relive turnover nightmare as Bismarck rolls

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BISMARCK — Turnovers have been the Dickinson High girls basketball team’s nightmare the entire season.

After the Midgets committed 14 turnovers in the first 10 minutes, Bismarck High continued to build a 50-7 lead at halftime.

The No. 3-seed Demons rode the 43-point halftime lead en route to a 78-33 win over No. 6-seed Dickinson in the quarterfinals of the West Region Tournament on Thursday at the Bismarck Civic Center Exhibition Hall.

“We had some turnovers in the first part of the game and we didn’t get shots off,” Dickinson head coach Dan Pender said. “There were some nerves there and I thought we’d get through that part, but we really didn’t in the first half.”

Dickinson finished with 32 turnovers. The Demons (13-7) forced the Midgets into 34 turnovers during their second meeting of the regular season.

The Midgets struggled from the field, shooting just 1 of 16 (7 percent) in the first half. However, Dickinson picked up the offensive and defensive intensity in the second half as the Bismarck held the slight scoring advantage, 28-26. The Demons also outrebounded the Midgets 33-26.

“It was one of those halves in games that whatever we tried didn’t work,” Pender said. “In the second half, I thought we did some good things offensively, working together more. Defensively, we just got after it and the girls taking a little pride.”

Dickinson’s senior post Rachel Schroeder led the team with 11 points, while Ali Moody added nine points and eight rebounds. Taylor Cooper supplied six points.

MacKayla Feeney, Keisha Engelhardt and Naomi Rust all had 11 points. Engelhardt also supplied seven rebounds and three assists.

The Midgets (7-13) play seventh-seeded Bismarck St. Mary’s in the consolation semifinals at 5:15 p.m. today. Dickinson’s win against the Saints this season were both in overtime.

“We just have to let this one go,” Pender said. “We’ve got St. Mary’s and we have to be ready to get after it. It should be a real close game again.”

D: Rachel Schroeder 11, Ali Moody 9, Taylor Cooper 6, Shelby Stoltz 2, Morgan Dukart 2, Meryl Kovacs 2. Lillie Meduna 1.

B: MacKayla Feeney 11, Keisha Engelhardt 11, Naomi Rust 11, Courtney Trolliey 8, McKenzie Kiefer 7, RyLee Meier 6, Ashlee Hilzendeger 4, Brittany Brownotter 5, Nicole Wolfer 4, Jenna Binstock 3, Taylor Mann 3, Estee Schmidt 3, Madison Seifert 2.

Half: B 50-7. 3-pointers: D 0, B 8 (Feeney 3, Meier 2, Brownotter 1, Kiefer 1, Schmidt 1). Free throws: D 17-27, B 20-27. Total fouls: D 23, B 21. Technical fouls: Bismarck bench (2). Rebounds: D 26 (Moody 8), B 33 (Engelhardt 7). Assists: D 3 (three tied with one), B 14 (Hilzendeger 3, Engelhardt 3). Steals: D 1 (Moody 1), B 5 (Hilzendeger 3). Turnovers: D 32, B 20. Records: D 7-13, B 13-7.

Tags: dickinson midgets, high school basketball, west region tournament, sports, preps