DICKINSON - Once the Bowman County Bulldogs got going, there was no stopping them.
It may have taken an entire half, but third-ranked Bowman County overcame a slow start with 25-3 second-half run en route to a 62-38 win over New England in the semifinals of the District 13 girls basketball tournament Saturday at Knights of Columbus Activities Center.
The win propelled the Bulldogs into the district championship game against Heart River at 7:30 p.m. Monday. New England drops into the regional-qualifying game against Hettinger at 4:30 p.m. Monday.
"We finally defended somebody," Bowman County coach Kent Harding said of his team's long second-half run. "We got the ball up and down the floor and executed on defense better."
The Bulldogs were sparked by veteran point guard Lindsey Tivis, who had five of her 10 points during the run. Tivis directed a fast-break attack that scored numerous easy layups off of New England turnovers.
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"We got our break going and played better defense," Tivis said.
Harding said Tivis keeps her team moving up and down the floor.
"She does a nice job of keeping everything together," Harding said. "She gets us going and pushes the ball up the floor."
New England's only points during the run came on a Shari Hewson 3-pointer, but by that time Bowman County had a 43-20 lead.
"We tried to keep it close for as long as we could," Jung said. "You can't give (Bowman County) an inch. They score in bunches.
"They were like a machine in the second half."
Senior Abby Nasset had a game-high 21 points and added six assists.
"We play her all over," Harding said. "She plays well in the post, and she likes to get up and down the floor."
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The Tigers fell behind 14-5 in the first half before inching closer in the second quarter.
With 6:26 left in the first half, Hewson hit a shot to put her team within five at 16-11. Bowman County went on a small run from there, but New England kept the Bulldogs' lead in the single digits thanks to 3-pointers from Jordyn Bender and Dana Kuhn.
New England couldn't carry that momentum into the second half as the Bulldogs got rolling quickly. All-state guard Brittany Anderson had 17 points.
Hewson led New England with 11.
"I knew only scoring 19 points in the first half wasn't enough," Jung said. "We didn't seem to be running our offensive plays."
Hettinger 45, Scranton 30
The Black Devils ended the game on a 14-4 run to pull away from a feisty Scranton squad in a loser-out game.
Sophomore guard Cloe Kilwein had nine of her 15 points in the second half including a key 3-pointer with more than 2 minutes left in the third quarter after Scranton had cut a once double-digit lead down to four.
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Scranton closed the gap down to five points after junior Caitlin Layden hit a shot to start the fourth quarter.
However, Hettinger's game-ending run started with a basket from sophomore Jade Yates and the Miners never recovered.
Hettinger outscored Scranton 14-4 in the first quarter, but watched the Miners get within two at 12-10 in the second quarter. The Black Devils answered with a 13-0 run to end the first half, carrying a 23-10 lead into the locker room.
Sophomore Gwen Kristy had a game-high 16 points for Hettinger, which forced 32 Scranton turnovers.
Scranton was led in scoring by juniors Megan Case and Mallorie Pierce, who each tallied eight points.
Hettinger 45, Scranton 30
Scranton 4 10 24 30
Hettinger 10 23 31 45
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S: Mallorie Pierce 8, Megan Case 8, Caitlin Layden 7, Katrina Johnson 3, Brittany Truetken 2, Hannah Sabe 2.
H: Gwen Kristy 16, Cloe Kilwein 15, Jade Yates 8, Caitlin Pearson 4, Alex Pearson 2,
3-pointers: Johnson, Kilwein. Free throws: S 1-2, H 16-24. Total fouls: S 21, H 8. Fouled out: Jill Mollman, Layden. Rebounds: S 25 (Case 8), H 32 (Yates 7). Assists: S 11 (Pierce, Case 4), H 7 (Kristy, Yates 2). Steals: S 5 (Five players with one), H 9 (Kilwein, Yates 3). Turnovers: S 30, H 13.
Bowman County 62, New England 38
NE 7 17 22 38
BC 14 26 51 62
NE: Shari Hewson 11, Jordyn Bender 9, Megan Neprash 8, Amber Nielson 3, Dana Kuhn 3, Amanda Olheiser 2, Jasmine Jung 2.
BC: Abby Nasset 21, Brittany Anderson 17, Lindsey Tivis 10, Megan Naico 8, Mandi Palczewski 2, Allison Hanson 2, Ali Morland 2.
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3-pointers: Bender 2, Hewson, Kuhn. Free throws: NE 10-14, BC 8-14. Total fouls: NE 15, BC 16. Rebounds: NE 28 (Bender, Nielson, Olheiser 3), BC 35 (Anderson 8). Assists: NE 7 (Bender 3), BC 21 (Nasset 6). Steals: NE 4 (Four players with one), BC 13 (Anderson 4). Turnovers: NE 23, BC 13.
