The Minot Ryan girls basketball team proved why it’s the No. 1-ranked team and defending state champions in Class B.
Not to mention, the Lions have a post tandem of 6-foot-2 forwards which very few teams can match.
Sophomore Gabbie Bohl and junior Hannah Stewart combined for 41 points to lead Minot Ryan past Dickinson Trinity 77-40 on Monday at Knights of Columbus Activities Center.
“We always want to get better and we can get a lot better,” Minot Ryan head coach Julie Stewart said. “They know the system, so they know what we are trying to do and they know how to do it. But, they are still kids and you have to constantly remind them of the things you told them from day one.
“(Bohl and Hannah Stewart) worked really hard. They worked really well off of each other. It goes as a whole unit, because also have some shooters on the outside. When we get that inside-out, it’s hard to defend.”
Bohl, who scored 16 points in the first half, finished with a game-high 23 points. Stewart ended with 18.
“In practice since we are the same height, we really push each other and our coach really enforces that,” Bohl said.
Trinity knew it wasn’t going to be an easy task sticking with Minot Ryan (5-0). In the previous four games, the Lions defeated their opponents by an average of 25 points.
The Titans head coach Alysia Barman said the Lions not only have tough posts inside, but strong shooters on the outside. Minot Ryan’s perimeter players tacked on a combined total of 36 points.
“They’ve earned where they are ranked and they accomplished a ton last year,” Barman said. “They just have so many tools. Their two big girls are so phenomenal. You add in their support staff that can shoot the lights out. Basically, when you are defending them, you have to pick your poison.”
In the first four minutes, the Titans stayed within three points - 12-9 - of the Lions after Kennedy Keator drained a 3-pointer. Keator scored the first nine points for the Titans (2-2).
“We came out really strong, but we knew they were going to come back at us,” said Keator, who finished with a team-high 15 points. “We knew it was going to be hard, but we needed to keep coming at them.”
After the first four minutes, Minot Ryan pulled away and never looked back. The Lions took their double-digit lead at the 1:32 mark of the first quarter after Stewart supplied an acrobatic layup.
From there, the Titans never came within single digits again. The Lions biggest lead in the first half was 20 points after closing out the second quarter with a 7-0 run.
The Lions extended their in the final 16 minutes. Their largest lead was 37 points when Maddie Wald knocked in back-to-back layups to close out the game. Wald finished with 15 points, while Anika Rovig added 10.
For the Titans, Jahner ended with eight points, while Jillian Stockert chipped in seven and Madison Jahner had five.
Trinity was pleased to play this game early in the season to figure out its exact flaws. The Titans return to the court to play Fargo Oak Grove at 4:30 p.m. Friday and Bismarck High JV at 11 a.m. Saturday in the Shiloh Christian New Year’s Invite.
“We have to come back and be a better team tomorrow than we were tonight,” Barman said. “We have two tough games this weekend, so our schedule doesn’t get any easier at all.”
Keator added: “We just have to keep our heads up. We knew they were going to be a really tough team, because they are ranked No. 1. We just have to keep working hard in practice and getting better every day.”
Minot Ryan 27 42 57 77
Trinity 13 22 34 40
MR: Gabbie Bohl 23, Hannah Stewart 18, Maddie Wald 15, Anika Rovig 10, Sheyenne Schmidt 5, Sydney Landsiedel 4, Lauren Leidholt 2.
T: Kennedy Keator 15, Rachel Jahner 8, Jillian Stockert 7, Madison Jahner 5, Brianna Soehren 2, Katelyn Grinsteinner 2, Alanna Sickler 1.
3-pointers: MR 4 (Rovig 2, Wald 1, Schmidt 1), T 4 (R. Jahner 2, Keator 1, Stockert 1). Free throws: MR 15-17, T 4-12. Records: MR 5-0, T 2-2.
