The Harvey-Wells County girls hit a tough part of their schedule as they matched up against the Langdon/Edmore/Munich Cardinals and the Kidder County Wolves in this past week's girls' basketball action.
The opponents had a combined record of 21-8, and both the Cardinals and the Wolves are considered as top contenders in their respective regions. The Hornets dropped both games by considerable margins, but hopefully gained some valuable experience during their play.
L/E/M 70, HWC 25
A 14-0 start and 22-1 advantage in the first quarter was more than enough for the Cardinals, as they defeated the Hornets, 70-25, in Munich on Friday, January 27.
Cora Badding, Meredith Romfo and Jalynn Swanson each scored six points in the first quarter for L/E/M, as they scored often and the defense limited HWC to just one Emma Dockter free throw in a 21 point advantage after eight minutes.
The Cardinal defense continued to dominate in the second, allowing the Hornets a three pointer from Rachel Neumiller as the only HWC points. Five Cardinal players tallied points in the second, as they increased their lead to 40-4 at halftime.
The Cardinals scored the first seven points of the third before Neumiller stopped the run with her second three of the game. Halle Jabs scored six and Jaya Henderson and Romfo added three pointers to help L/E/M to a 59-12 lead after three.
The Hornets scored 13 in the final quarter, as Brooklyn Dockter scored five to cut the final difference to 45 points.
Romfo and Badding paced the Cardinals with 15 points each, while Jabs also found double digits with 11 points. HWC was led by Emma Dockter with eight points, which included going 6-for-7 from the free throw line.
The win helped L/E/M move to 10-5 overall and 4-0 in Super Region 4, while the Hornets dropped to 5-10 overall and 2-4 in regional play.
Kidder Co. 71, HWC 30
A 21-2 advantage in the second quarter set the stage for a huge 71-30 victory for the Kidder County Wolves over the HWC Hornets in non-region girls basketball action in Steele on Saturday, January 28.
Avery Rath scored nine points in the opening quarter, and Kennedy Harter added six more as the Wolves led, 18-8, after one. Neumiller scored seven in the first half, but Harter scored seven more in the second quarter helping Kidder County to a 39-10 halftime lead.
The Wolves continued to roll in the third, with five players scoring. A 11-2 advantage to start the second half moved the Kidder County lead to 50-12. Breanna Heilman scored eight points in the third as the Hornets put up 13 points, but trailed 59-23 after three.
Both teams' junior varsity players got plenty of varsity action in the fourth quarter, with Brooklyn Dockter scoring all seven points for HWC in the fourth quarter. The Wolves won the quarter, 12-7, and the game by 41 points.
Harter was the leading scorer in the game with 19 points in three quarters of play. Rath scored 17 and Taylor Zimmerman added 10 for the Wolves.
The Hornets were led by Neumiller, who scored nine, and Keller, who grabbed seven boards and blocked four shots.
With the win, Kidder County moves to 13-3 for the year, while HWC dropped to 5-11 overall.
(Editor's Note: The previous article was meant to run in the February 6 edition of the Independent, but there was insufficient space to publish it. It is printed in this edition.)
Region 4 Girls' Basketball
Langdon/Edmore/Munich 70,
HWC 25
at Munich
HWC 1 3 8 13 25
L/E/M 22 18 19 11 70
HWC: Emma Dockter 8, Rachel Neumiller 6, Brooklyn Dockter 5, Rylee Jones 3, Larissa Arnold 2, Maci Reutter 1.
L/E/M: Cora Badding 15, Meredith Romfo 15, Halle Jabs 11, Jalynn Swanson 8, Aubrey Badding 7, Jaya Henderson 7, Arika Bakke 2, Payton Hall 2, Raleigh Ratzlaff 2, Tallia Johnston 1.
HWC Additional Stats
Rebounds: Braylee Keller 5, Jones 4, B. Dockter and Breanna Heilman 3, Neumiller 2, E. Dockter and Ella Monge 1.
Assists: E. Dockter 2, B. Dockter, Jones and Keller 1.
Steals: Neumiller 2.
Blocks: Keller and Neumiller 1.
Nonregion Girls' Basketball
Kidder Co. 71, HWC 30
at Steele
HWC 8 2 13 7 30
KC 18 21 20 12 71
HWC: Neumiller 9, Heilman 8, B. Dockter 7, E. Dockter 5, Keller 1.
Kidder Co.: Kennedy Harter 19, Avery Rath 17, Taylor Zimmerman 10, Kylee Rohrich 8, Breanah Pfaff 6, Ava Schmidt 4, Grace Nicholson 3, Janae Furman 2, Elayna Kramlich 2.
HWC Additional Stats
Rebounds: Keller 7, Arnold 5, Neumiller 4, Heilman and Jones 1.
Assists: Keller 3, Neumiller 2, Heilman 1.
Steals: Neumiller 2, Arnold, E. Dockter and Monge 1.
Blocks: Keller 4, Neumiller 1.