All bark, no bite

On Friday, Jan. 7, the New Rockford-Sheyenne gymnasium hosted the Region 4 contest between the New Rockford-Sheyenne Rockets and the Rolla Bulldogs. The Rockets took off with the bone and buried it, to defeat the Bulldogs 44-39.

After a tough, double-overtime loss to the Bulldogs back on Dec. 3 during the CNDC tournament in Rugby, the Rockets knew what they would be up against.

With the tip going to the Bulldogs, the Rockets went straight into two-man defense, instead of the usual man-to-man defense. This helped guide the Rockets to the win. With the two-man defense, more steals, with breakaways to the basket, occurred by Kelsie Belquist and Kennedy Demester.

The first quarter ended with the Rockets and Bulldogs tied 10-10. The Rockets were able to take a three-point-lead at the buzzer of the second quarter after putting a stop to Rolla's star player, Morgan Leas.

Are you on the edge of your seat yet? The game is only halfway done!

Third quarter was yet another low scoring quarter. The Rockets put in four field goals and the Bulldogs put in three field goals and one free-throw bringing the score to 27-23.

New Rockford Transcript readers normally hear about Belquist and Demester from the Rockets girls' basketball team, but for this game, eighth grader Ava Peterson stood out the most.

Peterson is a shooter, she always has been one to take the shot when given the right opportunity. Peterson is averaging eight points per game this season, which is very well for her first year on varsity.

During the fourth quarter, coach Elliott Belquist called out a play for Peterson to become open to line up a shot just shy of the three-point-line. Swish. Two for Peterson. After playing defense on the opposite side of the court, the Rockets returned to their basket to run the same play, another chance yet again for Peterson to drain another field goal.

This game may not have been Peterson's all-time high scoring game, but her athleticism and outstanding sportsmanship really stands out.

With Peterson's two field goals, the fourth quarter got quite intense. Peterson was able to put in another field goal, along with Belquist, who drained three field goals and was sent to the line for three free-throws. Mya Cudworth also shot a field goal, bringing the total points in the fourth quarter up to 19 for the Rockets.

Jenna Rosinski and Leas put in a three-pointer each in an attempt to slow down the Rockets, but it wasn't enough. The Bulldogs were only able to score a total of 16 points in the fourth quarter, ending the game with the score 39-46 in favor of the Rockets.

Leas scored a total of 20 points against the Rockets, being the top scorer and only player to score in the double-digits for the Bulldogs.

Belquist led the Rockets with 15 points, with Peterson behind with 14 and Cudworth with 11. The only other player to score for the Rockets was Demester, for a total of six points.

The varsity team wasn't the only team with a victorious game for the night. The Rockets junior varsity team won 45-42, the eighth grade team won 22-19, and the seventh grade team won 22-9.

Region 4, Non District Girls' Basketball

NR-S 46, Rolla 39

Friday, Jan. 7

at New Rockford

NR-S 10 9 8 19 - 46

Rolla 10 6 7 16 - 39

NR-S: Kelsie Belquist 15, Ava Peterson 14, Mya Cudworth 11, Kennedy Demester 6. Totals: 20 FG, 6-9 FT, 14 fouls.

Rolla: Morgan Leas 20, Trista Henderson 8, Jenna Rosinski 5, Carmen Elick 2, Jaina Canapi 2, Rylee Hanlan 2. Totals: 11 FG, 11-14 FT, 16 fouls. Three-pointers: Rosinski 1, Leas 1.

Junior Varsity

NR-S 45, Rolla 42

NR-S 16 13 6 10 - 45

Rolla 9 8 17 8 - 42

NR-S: Ava Peterson 15, Addysen Fandrich 10, Tillie Swart 8, Kaiya O'Connor 4, Bailey Jacobson 4, Kelsie Belquist 2, Addison Wallace 2. Totals: 19 FG, 4-8 FT, 10 fouls. Three-pointer: O'Connor.

Rolla: Kate Munro 10, Kenzy Wuori 7, Hannah Neameyer 6, Jenna Rosinski 5, Rylee Hanlan 4, McKenna Samuelson 3, Carmen Elick 3, Emily Gustafson 2, Aubry Houle 2. Totals: 10 FG, 7-14 FT, 11 fouls. Three-pointers: Elick 1, Rosinski 1, Munro 1, Hanlan 1, Wuori 1.

8th Grade

NR-S 22, Rolla 19

NR-S 9 6 7 0 - 22

Rolla 8 2 2 7 - 19

NR-S: Paige Knatterud 11, Emmie Belquist 5, Logan Cudworth 4, Bailey Baumbach 2. Totals: 10 FG, 2-3 FT, 8 fouls.

Rolla: Khaliel Sloan 8, Megan Dunlop 6, Adison St. Germaine 3, Marie Parisien 2. Totals: 7 FG, 2-4 FT, 8 fouls. Three-pointer: St. Germaine 1.

7th Grade

NR-S 22, Rolla 9

NR-S 6 4 4 8 - 22

Rolla 2 0 4 3 - 9

NR-S: Camebria Engels 14, Madison Hultgren 2, Bailey Baumbach 23, Kaylynn Chamberlain 2, Karsyn Wetzel 2. Totals: 11 FG, 7 fouls.

Rolla: Rory McDougall 3, Brooklyn Wallette 2, Charleigh McCloud 2, Haley Juntunen 2. Totals: 4 FG, 1-3 FT, 2 fouls.