The Official Newspaper for Foster County
The Official Newspaper for Foster County
Haley Wolsky scored seven points against Rugby.
Two different schools took on the Carrington basketball programs Saturday afternoon, January 21, both looking to extend season-long undefeated status.
The newly-minted #1 team in Class B girls, the Rugby Panthers, and the fifth-ranked Ellendale Cardinal boys almost got the bite from the upset bug.
In this case, the term "almost" was the overriding theme, as the CHS Cards had third-quarter leads against Ellendale (by seven) and were within a possession of the Panthers at the start of the fourth.
It wasn't to be in either case, however, as the Panthers pulled away for a 68-52 win in the girls' game and Ellendale outscored the Cards by 19 in the second half to send the home squad to a nightcap defeat of 71-53.
Rugby 68, Carrington 52
Girls
Carrington trailed by just 43-42 to Rugby with eight minutes to play, but the Panthers, behind nine fourth quarter points from Mykell Heidlebaugh, would find the extra gear down the stretch and get a win closer than the score might indicate.
Heidlebaugh went 5-for-6 at the free-throw line late, and big shots from Kendyl Hager (two threes) and Pey-ton Hauck also loomed large.
"The girls gave good effort throughout the game," said CHS Coach Andy Braaten. "In the first half, we persevered through some foul trouble and injuries, and our bench gave us some good minutes once again."
Madison Johnson sat out all of the second quarter, but came back with a spark in the third quarter by scoring eight of her team-best 13 points.
Isabel Wendel had one of her best games of the season, as the sophomore guard tallied 12 points and nearly cracked double figures in assists with nine. Wendel was also the top rebounder with five.
"She really stepped up to run the point [guard] for us," said Braaten. "Madi and Edyn also hit some shots in the third quarter to keep us close."
The morning game belonged to Hager, with 21 points and six threes total. Heidlebaugh would finish with 15, and Joey Wolf scored 11 for Rugby.
Ellendale 71,
Carrington 53
Boys
Several hours later, the boys' varsity squads for both Cardinal teams in District 5 put on a show as well.
Carrington had the early momentum, taking advantage of a slow Ellendale start to lead by six at the end of one quarter, 18-12.
Ellendale got their bearings back with 23 in the second, but still trailed by one, 36-35, at the break.
The third quarter started similarly to the first for CHS with six straight points, but that would represent the high water mark for the home redbirds.
"Ellendale's an extremely difficult team to play against as they are just relentless offensively with some dynamite shooters," said Head Coach Tim Ranum. "With that being said, it was a disappointing loss because we played really well in stretches where we found the open man which was often Josh [Bickett], but we followed that up with some really poor stretches where we let things spiral out of control for us."
He added, "Eventually, we ended up turning the ball over which led to a devastating Ellendale run that left us reeling."
EHS outscored the locals with a 20-3 run to close the quarter, and outscored Ranum's team by six in the final period.
Bickett, the Cards' sophomore guard, had his best game of the season, hitting six three-balls and finishing with 25 points. Hudson Schmitz had 14 points and had eight rebounds, and Grady Shipman scored 10 to go along with three steals.
"Ultimately, we're looking to grow from the loss and continue to rack up district wins and put ourselves in the best position to succeed at the district tournament," said Ranum.
Ellendale (12-0, 4-0 District 5) was led by Levi Reis' 18 points, all coming via six threes. Sixteen more came from Riley Thorpe, and both Jack Bommersbach and Mason Molan concluded with 10-point nights.
Nondistrict Girls' Basketball
Rugby 68, Carrington 52
at Carrington
Rugby 14 13 16 25 68
Cgtn. 8 17 17 10 52
Carrington: Madison Johnson 13, Isabel Wendel 12, Edyn Hoornaert 8, Haley Wolsky 7, Kacie Rexin 6, Emma Hone 2, Olivia Threadgold 2, Kaydence VanRay 2. Totals: 19 FG, 6-10 FT, 19 fouls. Three-pointers: Johnson 3, Hoornaert 2, Rexin 2, Wendel. Fouled out: Hone.
Rugby: Kendyl Hager 21, Mykell Heidlebaugh 15, Joey Wolf 11, Peyton Hauck 9, Joran Jundt 6, Megan Buckmier 3, Lacie Deplazes 3. Totals: 21 FG, 16-25 FT, 13 fouls. Three-pointers: Hager 6, Heidlebaugh, Hauck, Buckmier.
Carrington Additional Stats
Rebounds: Wendel 5, Hoornaert and Threadgold 4, Hone and Johnson 3, Wolsky 2, Rexin and VanRay 1.
Assists: Wendel 9, Hoornaert and Johnson 2, Rexin and VanRay 1.
Steals: Threadgold 1.
Blocks: Hone 1.
District 5 Boys' Basketball
Ellendale 71, Carrington 53
at Carrington
Ellen. 12 23 20 16 71
Cgtn. 18 18 9 8 53
Carrington: Josh Bickett 25, Hudson Schmitz 14, Grady Shipman 10, Jack Erickson 2, Jack Paulson 2. Totals: 20-43 FG, 5-12 FT, 12 fouls. Three-pointers: J. Bickett 6, Schmitz, Shipman.
Ellendale: Levi Reis 18, Riley Thorpe 16, Jack Bommersbach 10, Mason Molan 10, Hunter Ducheneaux 9, Cole Sayler 8. Totals: 29-61 FG, 5-10 FT, 12 fouls. Three-pointers: Reis 6, Thorpe 2.
Carrington Additional Stats
Rebounds: Schmitz 8, Erickson 6, Shipman 3, McCoy Beckley and J. Bickett 2, Ryder Bickett 1.
Assists: Schmitz and Shipman 4, Erickson 3, Paulson 1.
Steals: Shipman 3, Schmitz 2, Beckley and Erickson 1.
Blocks: Erickson 1.
