Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883

Bjerke's big game carries Rocket girls to win

Others may get more of the publicity at times, but NR-S sophomore Dani Bjerke hasn’t necessarily shied away from the spotlight in the past when called upon for an offensive spark.

Her game-winner in the 2018 District 7 Tournament first round this past Feb. over Lakota comes to mind, where the then-freshman buried a three-pointer to give the Rockets a 40-39 stunner against Lakota.

Bjerke put together her biggest boxscore as a varsity player Friday night, Jan. 4, scoring 27 points to lead the Rockets to a 68-35 win on the road against Region 4 opponent Rolla.

NR-S (5-4 overall) outscored the Bulldogs, 17-3, in the second quarter after forging a seven-point lead after eight minutes, and kept the momentum going in the second half with consistent play on both ends.

Junior and leading scorer Hannah Haley provided the supporting performance this time around with 18 points. Carli Lies and Brianna Price each tallied double digits in the scoring column with 10, and Alli Dockter also finished with seven.

Rolla fell to 3-6 on the season, and were led by 10 points from junior guard Kyleigh Wilkes. Morgan Leas, an eighth grader for the Bulldogs, finished with eight.

The Rockets face a pair of District 7 opponents this coming week. On Tuesday, NR-S travels to Lakota to take on the Raider girls, and return back to the NRSHS Gym for a Friday evening contest with the Benson County Wildcats. Both slates begin with junior high play at 4:30 p.m.

Nondistrict Girls’

Basketball

NR-S 68, Rolla 35

at Rolla

NR-S 18 17 21 12 68

Rolla 11 3 12 9 35

NR-S: Dani Bjerke 27, Hannah Haley 18, Carli Lies 10, Brianna Price 10, Alli Dockter 7, Chloe Heinz 2, Kindra Jacobson 2.

Rolla: Kyleigh Wilkes 10, Morgan Leas 8, Skylar Arnold 7, Sara Kurtti 4, Isabelle Mears 3, Grace Neameyer 3.

Junior varsity

NR-S 71, Warwick 45

Junior high

NR-S 32, Warwick 22