It will be the Dickinson Trinity girl’s basketball team continuing to the quarterfinals of the Region 7 tournament after winning their play-in game against New England at home Friday night.
Trinity’s gymnasium held a good-size crowd with both side's fans getting loud behind their team. Though the game ended 51-40, the margin widened down the stretch with the Tigers staying close behind for the majority of the game. They came close several times to tie the game, but unfortunately the road team would not make the offensive play needed to pass up the Titans.
“Our girls fought hard and they did every single second of the game,” New England head coach Jason Jung said. “We didn't lose because of lack of effort. We were close so many times and cut it to two points several times in the second half, but we couldn't get over the hump. We either gave up a shot or offensive rebounds and couldn't get that possession back to put us ahead.”
The two sides battled for the lead in the first quarter, both playing to their strengths. New England found success from the three-point range and Trinity showed precision at the line. By the end of the first the Titans held the lead at 10-8 and would hold it for the remainder of the game.
With less than two minutes remaining in the first half, the score was 23-18. Sophomore Ava Jahner put up the final point in the first half at the foul line, making 1-of-2 for the scoreboard to read 24-20.
ADVERTISEMENT
“We had a tough time all year finishing games,” Trinity head coach Trevor Ernst said. “We have had lots of games where we have the lead, but haven't been able to finish and close out the victory or make it a game the whole way and we finally came through.”
The second half was gritty with both sides implementing strong defensive plays. New England deployed their full-court press off and on, but it wasn't enough to keep the Titans from going on a 8-1 run.
The Tigers dug deep, bringing it back to a two-point game in the final quarter at 37-35 with 5:30 left in the game. Timely tipped balls and offensive rebounds kept Trinity above water and allowed them to take a 7-point lead in the final two minutes.
“We tried to keep our defensive intensity up. New England has a good offense and press so every time we let go of our intensity, they were able to come right back on a run,” Ernst said. “It is something that we have to keep working on, but they kept it up for most of the game.”
As the clock continued to run down with Trinity building their lead, the Tigers began intentional fouling in hopes to buy themselves time and decrease their deficit. Jahner was 8-for-10 in the fourth quarter alone. The final buzzer went off with the result being 50-41.
The Titans had three players in double figures; Jahner, leading with 21 points, senior guard Kali Kubis had 11 and freshman guard Nevaeh Berger followed with 10. New England's lead scorer was sophomore guard Sophie Olsonawski with 12.
“It was good to see our three leaders on the team show up,” Ernst said. “We ran a few things for tonight and she(Ava) did a good job at taking the responsibility of executing and showed good leadership out there. I am happy for our two seniors Kali and Hope to have strong games; Hope, defensively and Kali, offensively.”
Trinity will now face Glen Ullin-Hebron in the quarterfinals on Monday, Feb. 21.
ADVERTISEMENT
Box Scores:
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final | |
| New England | 8 | 12 | 9 | 11 | 40 |
| Trinity | 10 | 14 | 10 | 17 | 51 |
Trinity: Ava Jahner 21, Kali Kubas 11, Nevaeh Berger 10, Annabel Scheeler 5, Mckenna Ernst , Hope Faith 2; New England: Sophie Olsonawski 12, Hannah Frank 9, Irea De Paz Nogueira 7, Grace Dinius 5, Emma Olsonawski 3, Samantha Volk, Kallie Dinius 2
Play-in Scores:
Heart River 55, Richardton-Taylor 11
Heart River: Meg Silbernagel 16, Jordan Buckman 12, Lelani Privratsky 11, Sage Froehlich 8, Abby Talkington 6, Sage Lecoe 2; Richarton-Taylor: Ashlynn Christensen 4, Kora Vogle 3, Grace Kuntz, Jayne krank 2
Mott Regent 58, Hazen 33
Mott-Regent: MaryJane Mayer, Hailee Olson 12, Samantha Greff 9, Madison Rafferty, Kattie Honeyman 8, Jazlyn Ottmar 4, Emily Manolovits, Jenessa Zentner 2; Hazen: Lauren Doll 8, Makenna Brunmeier, Macee Smith 7, Anna Roth 5, Macey Van Inwagen 4, Myah Mosset 2
Hettinger-Scranton 50, Killdeer 30
