CHS keeps on truckin'

On Thursday, January 5, the Carrington Cardinals kept their winning ways going with a dominant 66-20 victory over the Cardinals of Ellendale.

Carrington, by now well known for their full-court pressure, stuck to what's been working for them on Thursday, and Ellendale couldn't cope.

CHS piled on the pressure all game long, rendering Ellendale incapable of generating consistent offense.

Carrington juniors Madison Johnson and Kacie Rexin were a particularly sharp thorn in their side, as the two of them forced turnover after turnover, often not allowing their opponents to so much as inbound the ball.

Nevertheless, Ellendale did at least manage a couple of successful runs in the first half, including one in the second quarter that allowed them to go into halftime with only a 25-17 deficit.

But unfortunately for Ellendale, Carrington came out of halftime and made their first half performance look like little more than their warm-up period.

Their defense, which had already been stifling Ellendale's attack, kicked into a higher gear to start the second half. Turnovers became even more commonplace, and any attempted shots were contested and missed their mark, if not blocked outright.

Carrington's offense, meanwhile, hummed along without issue. Carrington junior Olivia Threadgold was imposing her will in the paint all night, and in addition to her stellar defense, Johnson also shot well from beyond the arc.

Even as the game turned into a blowout, not once did Carrington let up their rigid full-court pressure, nor their impressive shooting on offense. The result was a bludgeoning.

In the second half, Carrington scored 41 points. Ellendale, meanwhile, only scored three. The Ellendale Cardinals went the entire fourth quarter without scoring a single point, bringing the final score to 66-20 in Carrington's favor.

It was just the latest dominant victory for Carrington in what's becoming a season of dominance.

Following their win against Ellendale, Carrington had won at least four games by margins of 40 points or greater, and another four games by point margins of between 14 and 28. Only a couple were won by single digits.

Carrington's next game was on the road against Central Cass High School on Jan. 12. The Squirrels entered the matchup with a 7-2 overall record and having won five in a row. That game will be covered in the next edition of the Independent.

Carrington JV 54, Barnes Co. North 11

On Monday night, a struggling Bison program played host to the younger Cards. BCN has not scored more than 13 points in a game this season, and their dressed roster for the game includes just two seniors, two freshmen, and six seventh graders.

Carrington's biggest output came in the first quarter, when they scored 21 of the first 24 total points.

Kenadie Pazdernik led the jayvees with 15 points, followed by Threadgold and Kaydence VanRay with nine each.

The top scorer for BCN (0-8, 0-1) was senior Jayden Samek with five points, and she had two of the team's four field goals, including a trey in the fourth quarter.

Opting out of the Monday matchup added another game to the Cards' schedule, and they used that available date to pick up a game with top-ranked Kenmare/Bowbells at Bismarck State College this past Friday, in addition to their game with the seventh-ranked Squirrels the previous night.

This upcoming Thursday brings the Cards back to District 5 play, as they tangle with conference contender Oakes in Tornado Alley. On Saturday, #2-ranked Rugby comes to town for another top-10 clash.

District 5 Girls' Basketball

Carrington 66, Ellendale 20

at Carrington

Ellen. 4 13 3 0 20

Cgtn. 12 13 29 12 66

Carrington: Madison Johnson 24, Olivia Threadgold 14, Edyn Hoornaert 9, Haley Wolsky 8, Kacie Rexin 6, Emma Hone 2, Kenadie Pazdernik 2, Kaydence VanRay 1. Totals: 24 FG, 12-16 FT, 15 fouls. Three-pointers: Johnson 4, Threadgold, Hoornaert. Fouled out: Wolsky.

Ellendale: Kali Norton 9, Ariel Hagen 4, Mya Glynn 2, Macy Norton 2, Christena Walker 2, Kaisa Lematta 1. Totals: 5 FG, 9-13 FT, 12 fouls. Three-pointer: K. Norton.

Carrington Individual Stats

Rebounds: Hoornaert 10, Threadgold 6, Hone 5, Wolsky 4, Johnson, Pazdernik, Rexin and VanRay 2, Brynn Smith 1.

Assists: Johnson 5, Hoornaert 4, Wolsky 2, Hone, Rexin, Threadgold and VanRay 1.

Steals: Hone and Johnson 5, Wolsky 4, Hoornaert and VanRay 3, Pazdernik 1.

Blocks: Wolsky 2, Threadgold 1.

Carrington JV 54, Barnes Co. North 11

at Leal

Cgtn. 21 13 10 10 54

BCN 3 2 3 3 11

Carrington JV: Pazdernik 15, Threadgold 9, VanRay 9, Smith 6, Sienna Topp 5, Rexin 4, Reese Schaefer 4, Molly Hansen 2. Totals: 24 FG, 4-11 FT, 10 fouls. Three-pointers: Threadgold, Topp.

Barnes Co. North: Jayden Samek 5, Ashley Weiss 3, Keyli Beyer 2, Marleigh Carpenter 1. Toals: 4 FG, 2-6 FT, 9 fouls. Three-pointer: Samek.