Squirrels go nuts in sweep over Cards

The yearly series between Carrington and Central Cass's basketball programs has gone back and forth over recent seasons, with one team or the other claiming supremacy, but mostly competitive.

For the last few years, the pendulum has swung towards the Squirrels, and this year was fairly representative of that trend.

The third-ranked Cass girls overcame a slow start in the first quarter and rolled through the final three periods for a 66-25 win.

In the boys' game in the nightcap, the Cards gave up the first 19 points of the night, but played fairly even with the Squirrels for the middle of the game and surged late to claw within 12 at the end, 58-46.

Opening game action saw the Cards within striking distance at 15-11 following the eight-minute mark, but the Squirrel defense closed the clamps by allowing merely 14 CHS points the rest of the night.

"They're a tough and experienced team," Cardinal girls' coach Andy Braaten said. "The girls gave a good effort and were scrappy on defense, but we really struggled on the offensive end."

Sophomore guard Madison Johnson led the team with seven points, and got praise from Braaten for finishing several nice dribble drives. She also was the co-top rebounder for Carrington with five.

Inside against a tough Central Cass front court, Edyn Hoornaert altered four shots on the block, and led the Cards additionally with three assists.

Emma Rindy had six points off two three-pointers, and Isabel Wendel added five tallies in defeat.

Central Cass junior forward Decontee Smith scored 15 points to lead the balanced Squirrels (10-1), seven of her points in the second-quarter run that let the visitors pull away.

Center Jaylin Cotton also had a productive evening with 14, and the Squirrels made it a family affair with the post player's younger twin sisters, juniors Delaney and Klaire, each scoring eight points along with Kailey McKinnon.

Unavailable for the Cards against Central Cass was center and top scorer, senior Sydnie Grager.

The boys' contest featured a blitz right out of the opening tip. The Cards couldn't answer the Central Cass trapping defense, and that led to a 19-0 run that was stopped by Grady Shipman's basket in the lane just inside of two minutes to go in the first quarter.

"You can't start down 19 points against a quality team and expect to win," CHS boys' coach Tim Ranum said. "Still, our guys did a good job of making a run, and really outplaying Central Cass outside of that bad start."

Hudson Schmitz led the Cards with a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds, and also carried the assist and steal categories with three apiece. Shipman would end up with nine points as well in Carrington's column.

The play of junior Jack Paulson was a very encouraging sign for Ranum and the undermanned Cards. Pressed into his first prolonged stint in the bench rotation, he finished with nine points, and had two assists and a steal.

"We may have found some things that work, especially with Jack coming in and playing good minutes for us," said Ranum. "All in all, we have to look at it as something to build on as we go forward and everyone hopefully gets healthy."

Jake Deutsch's 18 points and six steals led Central Cass, now 8-0 with the victory. Cole Holzer finished at 13 points and a team-best six rebounds, and Carter Vrchota had 12, including a pair of trifectas.

Health, or lack of it, led to the CHS girls' postponement of their planned game with the Thompson Tommies on Saturday, January 15. A substantial portion of the team is out due to a recent COVID-19 outbreak at the school, and it is not immediately known when and if the game will be made up.

The Cardinal girls dropped to 7-4 with the loss, while the boys' record now sits at 4-5 with a four-game losing streak.

This Tuesday, the girls host LaMoure/L-M in league play, and then hit the road Friday for a chance at vengeance against E-K-M, now sitting at 14-0 and on top of District 5 at 3-0.

CHS' boys will host a pair of district matchups beginning tonight (January 24) against Barnes County North, and on Friday when the L-L-M Loboes come to the East Gym.

Nondistrict Girls' Basketball

Central Cass 66, Carrington 25

at Carrington

C. Cass 15 19 14 18 66

Cgtn. 11 6 5 3 25

Carrington: Madison Johnson 7, Emma Rindy 6, Isabel Wendel 5, Emma Hone 4, Edyn Hoornaert 3. Totals: 10 FG, 2-6 FT, 9 fouls. Three-pointers: Rindy 2, Hoornaert.

Central Cass: Decontee Smith 15, Jaylin Cotton 14, Delaney Cotton 8, Klaire Cotton 8, Kailey McKinnon 8, Morgan Lee 5, Peyton Nelson 4, Rylie Holzer 2, Tori Richter 2. Totals: 29 FG, 3-4 FT, 12 fouls. Three-pointers: Smith, McKinnon, Lee.

Carrington Additional Stats

Rebounds: Johnson and Haley Wolsky 5, Hone 3, Hoornaert 2, Rindy and Wendel 1.

Assists: Hoornaert 3, Hone 2, Wendel 1.

Steals: Hone 3, Wendel 2, Hoornaert, Rindy and Wolsky 1.

Blocks: Hoornaert 4.

Nondistrict Boys' Basketball

Central Cass 58, Carrington 46

at Carrington

C. Cass 24 13 13 8 58

Cgtn. 4 12 12 18 46

Carrington: Hudson Schmitz 17, Jack Paulson 9, Grady Shipman 9, Hudson Topp 8, Josh Bickett 3. Totals: 17-44 FG, 6-10 FT, 15 fouls. Three-pointers: Schmitz 2, Topp 2, Paulson, Bickett.

Central Cass: Jake Deutsch 18, Cole Holzer 13, Carter Vrchota 12, Mason Bosse 7, Sam Kobbervig 7, Tyler Cruchet 1. Totals: 22-56 FG, 9-14 FT, 9 fouls. Three-pointers: Vrchota 2, Deutsch, Holzer, Bosse.

Carrington Additional Stats

Rebounds: Schmitz 10, Tate Larsen 4, Bickett 3, Topp 2, Paulson, Seaburg and Shipman 1.

Assists: Schmitz 3, Bickett, Paulson and Shipman 2, Larsen and Seaburg 1.

Steals: Schmitz 3, Bickett 2, Paulson, Seaburg and Topp 1.

Blocks: Bickett, Shipman and Topp 1.