Cards finish in 3rd at Region 3

The final game in Class B (in its current form) for the Carrington Cardinal girls went in the books as a triumph.

It wasn't the storybook ending they pictured for the program in 2022-23, with that honor going to E-K-M in the championship game just under two hours later.

Even then, the Cards walked off the Jamestown Civic Center floor for the last time with a 50-40 win over the Kidder County Wolves in the Region 3 Tournament third place contest.

An evenly-played first quarter gave way to a big second period run by CHS, utilizing the weapon of long-distance shooting they put to optimal use in the first quarter of the semifinal game.

This time around, the Cards did it one better, with five three-pointers to outscore the Wolves, 19-5, to take a 28-17 lead into the half that would not be contested from that point.

Kacie Rexin and Olivia Threadgold buried three deep shots apiece, both scoring 11 points, and Haley Wolsky's 12 tallies would lead Carrington.

Madison Johnson also had 10 points in the win for the Cards, and both she and Threadgold were one rebound short of a double-double.

Johnson was an active presence defensively against Kidder County with six steals, and also had three assists. Threadgold made two blocks as well, and Emma Hone and Isabel Wendel each brought in six rebounds.

The Wolves' season ended at 19-5 with the defeat, and they were led by senior forward Kennedy Harter's 16 points. Taylor Zimmerman, just a freshman, gave KC a boost with 12 points of her own.

Avery Rath finished her hoops career for the Wolves with a six-point, six-rebound showing. Harter had five boards, along with two each of assists, steals and blocks.

Carrington ended the year with an 18-6 record, and will witness just two seniors leaving to graduation, those being Wolsky and Hone.

Next season, the Cards will bump up to the newly-formed Region 2 of Division A in the three-division format. Much of the same core of players will be tasked with making their way in a new league which contains former Class A program Devils Lake, and Region 2 powers Grafton and Thompson, along with Four Winds-Minnewaukan and Hillsboro-Central Valley.

Region 3 Girls' Basketball

Tournament, Jamestown

Third Place

Carrington 50, Kidder Co. 40

Cgtn. 9 19 14 8 50

KC 12 5 10 13 40

Carrington: Haley Wolsky 12, Kacie Rexin 11, Olivia Threadgold 11, Madison Johnson 10, Isabel Wendel 3, Emma Hone 2, Kaydence VanRay 1. Totals: 19-55 FG, 3-6 FT, 10 fouls. Three-pointers: Rexin 3, Threadgold 3, Wolsky 2, Wendel.

Kidder Co.: Kennedy Harter 16, Taylor Zimmerman 12, Avery Rath 6, Grace Nicholson 3, Breanah Pfaff 3. Totals: 14-43 FG, 7-12 FT, 9 fouls. Three-pointers: Zimmerman 2, Harter, Nicholson, Pfaff.

Carrington Additional Stats

Rebounds: Johnson and Threadgold 9, Hone and Wendel 6, Rexin and Wolsky 4, VanRay 2.

Assists: Johnson 3, Threadgold 2, Rexin and Wendel 1.

Steals: Johnson 6, Threadgold and Wolsky 1.

Blocks: Threadgold 2, Wolsky 1.

Kidder Co. Additional Stats

Rebounds: Rath 6, Harter 5, Janae Furman 4, Nicholson 3, Pfaff, Ella Witt and Zimmerman 1.

Assists: Harter 2, Zimmerman 1.

Steals: Harter, Rath and Zimmerman 2, Nicholson and Pfaff 1.

Blocks: Harter 2.