It is a night full of mixed emotions, most joyful but others sad. It's a night to honor the players whose high school careers will soon come to an end.
As the Dickinson Trinity girls basketball team celebrated senior night, it didn't disappoint, dominating Richardton-Taylor 68-34 in a District 14 game Thursday at Knights of Columbus Activities Center.
Trinity came within a win of wrapping up the No. 1 seed in the District 14 tournament with the victory.
"It feels good," senior Mackenzie Glasser said. "But sad that we only have one more game left at home."
Glasser scored a game-high 21 points -- 15 of which came off 3-pointers -- and dominated on defense, tallying seven steals.
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"We started slow," Trinity head coach Alysia Barman said. "That's been the story all year ... we either start strong and finish slow, or start slow and finish strong."
The Titans led 18-12 at the end of the first quarter, but really kicked it into gear in the second quarter as they outscored the Raiders 20-7 to build a 38-19 halftime lead.
It wasn't without a few bumps along the way, however.
Getting into foul trouble early, senior Kelsey Barth sat most of the first quarter and her presence was missed in the closing minutes.
Battling back from a 13-4 deficit, Richardton-Taylor's Halle Olson rattled in a bank shot with 3:11 remaining in the first. Olson scored six of her team's final eight points in the quarter to narrow the gap at the quarter break.
It was the closest the Raiders could get, however, as senior forward Katie Kovash took over for the Titans in the second quarter.
Kovash scored 10 of her 17 points in the second quarter.
"It all starts with doing the little things and playing honest defense," Kovash said.
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Trinity's defensive effort was evident. The Titans forced 13 turnovers and had 24 steals.
Trinity held Richardton-Taylor to just 15 second-half points.
"I think it was their pressure," Raiders head coach April Tormaschy-Berger said. "But the only way to get better is to play against that kind of pressure."
With shots not falling for Richardton-Taylor in the second half, and missed opportunities on the boards, the Raiders relied on Olson and senior Sadie Gjermundson for points.
Gjermundson chalked up a double-double with 12 points and 12 boards and went 6 of 7 from the free-throw line. Olson added 12 points and six rebounds.
Combined, the Titans' four seniors scored 47 points and helped increase their lead at the end of the third quarter to 56-28.
Trinity senior Nicole Kristianson quietly went 4 of 6 from the field and she finished with eight points. Barth, who only took three shots, had just one point but added six rebounds, three assists and two steals.
"We know our roles," Kristianson said. "We just need to come out and execute and be mentally prepared."
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The Titans host No. 1-ranked Beach at 6 p.m. Saturday in their final home game of the season.
R-T 12 19 28 34
Trinity 18 38 56 68
RT: Sadie Gjermundson 12, Halle Olson 12, Logan Olson 6, Amber Rebel 21.
T: Mackenzie Glasser 21, Katie Kovash 17, Nikki Grinsteinner 14, Nicole Kristianson 8, Andrea Jirges 7, Kelsey Barth 1.
3-pointers: RT 0, T 6 (Glasser 5, Kovash 1). Free throws: RT 10-13, T 6-15. Total fouls: RT 15, T 17. Rebounds: RT 39 (Gjermundson 12), T 38 (Grinsteinner 9). Assists: RT 6 (H. Olson 3), T 16 (Glasser 3, Barth 3, Rachel Jahner 3, Kovash 3). Steals: RT 4 (H. Olson, Rebel, Gjermundson, Hannah Rummel), T 24 (Glasser 7, Kovash 7). Blocks: RT 1 (H. Olson), T 2 (Kovash, Grinsteinner). Turnovers: RT 30, T 13.
