DICKINSON — The Trinity Titans experienced first hand Tuesday night why Glen Ullin-Hebron are the top team in Region 7 girl's basketball.
The Bearcats needed a win on the final day of the regular season in order to secure the top seed in the postseason tournament next week.
They did exactly that in impressive fashion, defeating the Titans 49-14 at Trinity High School. Trinity scored the first bucket of the game, but that was the only highlight on the night for them.
Glen Ullin-Hebron (10-1, 18-3) went on a 14-0 run to close out the first quarter after giving up the first points of the game. It didn’t help the Titans’ cause that senior guard Kali Kubas picked up two fouls in the quarter, spending critical minutes on the bench.
The Bearcats patented strong defense, in both the full and half court, made life miserable for Trinity all night. They picked up the Titans (4-7, 5-15) full court, and even if they managed to cross into their own half, a pass was either tipped or heavily contested in some fashion, putting Trinity’s offense out of rhythm.
ADVERTISEMENT
“It is intense and a really good defense,” Trinity head coach Trevor Ernst said. “They do a really good job. We talk about it in practice and try to simulate it but there’s really no way to simulate it. When we got out there today, the speed and precision they ran it at got to the girls.”
It led to the Titans managing only single digits in all four quarters and their lowest total of the season. The Bearcats defense has now allowed just 39 points per game in Region 7 play.
Their aggressive nature on defense didn’t hurt them tonight as Trinity couldn’t generate open looks from what they were given.
“If they were aggressive, they leave space open, so try to attack that space,” Ernst said. “Whether it’s space you’re used to going in or not. Keeping your head up. When you get pressured you fall back into bad tendencies so we have to own up to that and be aware of what your tendencies are.”
Glen Ullin-Hebron had three players in double figures, juniors Taylor Christensen (14) and MiKayla Schneider (12), along with senior McKenzie Gerving (10). Kubas led the Titans with seven points.
Next up is the Region 7 tournament, beginning with the play-in games on Friday. The Titans will be the No. 8 seed, hosting the No. 9 seed New England, who they defeated 55-47 on January 14.
BOX SCORE
Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | F | |
Glen Ullin-Hebron | 14 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 49 |
Trinity | 2 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 14 |
GLEN ULLIN-HEBRON: Taylor Christensen 14, MiKayla Schneider 12, McKenzie Gerving 10, Alyssa Duppong 4, Aleya Dakken, Kaley Schatz, Courtnee Soupir 3
TRINITY: Kali Kubas 7, Morgan Koffler 3, Hope Fath 2, McKenna Ernst, Ava Jahner 1