The folks at the Beulah Dairy Queen may already be familiar with Kayla Schmidt. But they shouldn't be surprised if they see her again today - that is if Miners coach Clarence Winfrey is feeling generous.
"At the beginning of practice, coach will say shoot 20 (free throws) and the winner gets a Dairy Queen treat," Schmidt said.
Although the Region 7 girls basketball tournament semifinals aren't exactly practice, Schmidt knocked down more than enough gimmes to earn herself a free Blizzard or MooLatté.
The all-state senior forward made 15 of 16 from the free-throw line and scored 23 points to lead Beulah to a 50-33 victory over Mott-Regent.
The victory also put the Miners - playing their first Class B season since 1998 - in the Region 7 championship game, where they'll face Bowman County at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.
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"We didn't want her at the free-throw line shooting free throws," Mott-Regent coach Rod Meier said.
Schmidt was quiet in the first half, but was the catalyst in the third quarter, when Beulah, the top seed from District 14, outscored Mott-Regent 13-2.
Schmidt scored nine points in the quarter, including a wide-open NBA-depth 3-pointer from the left wing with 2 minutes, 56 seconds remaining which put the Miners ahead 32-20.
"We got the ball to Kayla in certain spots that work really well for us," Winfrey said.
The Wildfire, playing with District 13 player of the year Heather Mosbrucker in foul trouble, never recovered.
Beulah's tight man defense kept Mosbrucker out of the post after the first quarter and forced Mott-Regent into outside shots. Unfortunately for the Wildfire, those wouldn't either.
Mott-Regent finished 2 of 24 from 3-point range.
"We got those shots all season long," Meier said. "Tonight, we couldn't hit them. After a while they didn't even want to shoot anymore."
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The Miners' defense took full effect in the third quarter after their offense and ability to break Mott-Regent's press translated into a 15-5 run which helped them take a 20-13 lead.
And when the Wildfire (15-9), District 13's second seed, couldn't hit in the second half, Beulah kept up with its defensive pressure.
"If we play defense, rebound and stay mentally tough, we'll be in every game," Winfrey said.
The Miners (16-8) held a 43-22 edge on the boards, Schmidt had 13 rebounds while freshman post Kelsey Kraft had 11 points and 11 rebounds.
"All year long, coach has been stressing defense and rebounding," Schmidt said. "Rebounding is a mindset. It's nice to outrebound a team for once."
Beulah struggled to adapt to the Class B style early in the season, but is now flourishing as it heads into the region title game.
"I think we're finally getting use to it," Schmidt said. "It's nice to know that we're there."
