Rockets head to regionals

The Rockets have earned a spot in the Region 4 Girls Basketball Tournament.

The game was definitely one of two halves as the Rockets came from behind and defeated Benson County by a final score of 55-47 in a District 7 region qualifying game played here on Monday, Feb. 17. It was a hard fought game and at times quite physical. The Wildcats led 16-13 after one stanza, 28-24 at halftime. New Rockford-Sheyenne held a 13-6 advantage in the third and led 37-34 after three. The Rockets outscored Benson County 18-10 in the fourth and chalked up a 55-47 win, thus advancing on to the Region 4 Tournament.

Hannah Haley paced the locals with 18 points. Kayahna Hopfauf added 13 points. Desidy Schwanke led Benson County with 19 points. Quinn Neppl added 17 points. The Rockets had a good overall team effort. Two treys by Cassie Longnecker, two big free throws by Haley and two by Chloe Heinz were key to the win.

Benson County made 15 field goals, 12-19 free throws and committed 16 fouls. New Rockford-Sheyenne made 19 field goals, 11-21 free throws and committed 18 fouls. The Rockets are now 11-9 overall.

District 7 Girls Tournament

Regional Qualifier

Monday, Feb. 17

NR-S vs. Benson County

NR-S: 13 11 13 18 =55

BC: 16 12 6 13 =47

NR-S: Cassie Longecker 9, Dani Bjerke 8, Chloe Heinz 6, Ashlynn Benson 1. Three-pointers: Haley 3, Longnecker 2, Bjerke.

BC: McKenna Tofsrud 5, Kearyn Nelsen 4, Katlyn Bingham 2. Three- pointers: Schwanke 2, Neppl 2, Tofsrud.

Rockets fall in opening round

The biggest difference in this game was the second quarter as Dakota Prairie defeated the locals by a final score of 64-56 in first round action of the District 7 Girls Basketball tournament, played here on Friday, Feb. 14.

The Rockets did not shoot very well from the floor and had quite a few turnovers, but they never quit. Dakota Prairie led much of the way and at all quarter stops, 18-16, 42-25, 52-42 and again the Knights came thru with a 64-56 win.

Carli Lippert paced the Knights with a game-high 26 points. Eighteen of those came in the first half. Marit Ellingson added 12 points. The Rockets got into foul trouble but had good balanced scoring. Hannah Haley led the way with 18 points. Dani Bjerke had 14, and Cassie Longnecker had 13.

District 7 Girls Tournament

Opening Round

Friday, Feb. 14

Dakota Prairie vs. NR-S

DP: 18 24 10 12 =64

NR-S: 16 9 17 14 =56

DP: Hollie Emory 11, Shaye Frederick 10, Payton Lippert 5. Three-pointers: C. Lippert 6, Ellingson, P. Lippert.

NR-S: Ashlynn Benson 5, Chloe Heinz 4, Kayahna Hopfauf 2. Three-pointers, Longnecker 3, Bjerke 2, Benson.

Tournament Highlights

The Four Winds-Minnewaukan Indians claimed the District 7 Championship on Monday, Feb. 17 with a win over Harvey-Wells County. Dakota Prairie defeated Lakota earlier Monday, and earned their spot in the regional tournament bracket. Here are the other scores from the District 7 Tournament:

Friday, Feb. 14

• Harvey-Wells County 67, Warwick 41

• Benson Co. 59, Lakota 25

Saturday, Feb. 15

• Loser out: Lakota 58, Warwick 19

• Semifinals: Four Winds- Minnewaukan 82, Dakota Prairie 42

• Semifinals: Harvey-Wells County 66, Benson County 53

Monday, Feb. 17

• Region Qualifier: Dakota Prairie 46, Lakota 38

• Championship: Four Winds-Minnewaukan 64, Harvey-Wells County 54.

Here are the pairings for the opening round of the Region 4 Tournament on Monday, Feb. 24 at Devils Lake.

• 3 p.m. Four Winds-Minnewaukan vs North Star

• 4:30 p.m. Dunseith vs Dakota Prairie

• 6 p.m. Langdon-Area-Edmore-Munich vs New Rockford-Sheyenne

• 7:30 p.m. Harvey-Wells County vs St. John

Tournament play continues Feb. 25 and Feb. 27. The Region 4 Champion moves on to the State Class B Tournament at the Betty Englestad Arena in Grand Forks March 5-7.