Trinity holds off Hettinger

The Dickinson Trinity girls basketball team got out to a fast start and held back Hettinger in a Region 7 game Saturday afternoon at Knights of Columbus Activities Center.

Katie Kovash led the balanced Titans effort with 15 points and four steals as they cruised to a 49-25 victory in a game filled with physical play.

"It was a rough game," Kovash said. "We pulled out a win. We want to win these last couple so we can roll into districts."

Kovash scored the first six points as Trinity jumped out to a 10-0 lead.

The Titans built an 18-6 lead at the end of the first quarter thanks to back-to-back 3-pointers from Mackenzie Glasser and Kelsey Barth.

Another 3, this time by Kelsey Deichert with 4:06 left in the second quarter, capped an 8-2 Trinity surge that pushed its lead to 26-11.

The Titans led 31-13 at halftime and 40-21 at the end of the third.

Nikki Grinsteinner had eight points and nine rebounds.

Trinity head coach Alysia Barman was a bit disgruntled at how Trinity played in the second half, however.

"We've got two games left before district tournaments and we need to be able to finish a game," Barman said. "We start out strong, but we can't finish a game."

Hettinger played much of the final quarter without its three of its top seniors.

Alix Pearson, a 5-foot-11 forward who led the Black Devils with 10 points and had seven boards, fouled out with 6:07 left in the fourth quarter. Samantha Kristy fouled out with 4:38 remaining.

Senior point guard Tess Kilwein left the game late in the third quarter after falling hard to the floor while driving to the hoop.

Almost a month ago, Kilwein was in critical condition and spent several day s in a Bismarck hospital after rolling a vehicle she was driving on Interstate 94.

Kilwein, who was the team's leading scorer prior to the near-fatal accident, said she has struggled to regain the strength and stamina since returning to the team last week -- about a month earlier than doctors expected her to be able to play.

"I wasn't going to have that," Kilwein said.

She had five points and two steals in 17 minutes of play.

"It hurts, but I just keep going," Kilwein said. "It's just a lot of adrenaline. It never hurts half as bad as it does during the game."

Hettinger 6 13 21 25

Trinity 18 31 40 49

H: Alix Pearson 10, Nicole Johnson 7, Tess Kilwein 5, Bailey Sadowsky 2, Reba Resner 1.

T: Katie Kovash 15, Nikki Grinsteinner 8, Andrea Jirges 8, Kelsey Deichert 6, Mackenzie Glasser 5, Kelsey Barth 4, Samantha Gordon 2, Katelyn Grinsteinner 1.

3-pointers: H 0, T 4 (Glasser, Barth, Deichert, Kovash). Free throws: H 9-19, T 13-21. Total fouls: H 17, T 15. Fouled out: H, Kristy, Pearson. Rebounds: H 33 (Johnson 10), T 45 (Grinsteinner 9). Assists: H 1 (Kristy), T 10 (Kovash 3). Steals: H 8 (three with 2), T 16 (Kovash 4, Glasser 4). Blocks: H 1 (Pearson), T 0. Turnovers: H 26, H 18.