Rockets take 4th at CNDC

The 2023 annual CNDC tournament kicked off on Thursday, Nov. 30 in Rugby. Teams competing in the tournament were the New Rockford-Sheyenne Rockets, the Harvey/Wells County Hornets, the Glenburn Panthers, the Rugby Panthers, the TGU Titans, the St. John Woodchucks, the Drake-Anamoose Lady Raiders and the Minot North Sentinels.

The Rockets took the No. 4 seed in the bracket, and were set to take on the Minot North Sentinels in the first round of the tournament.

The Sentinels kicked off the game in full speed, with a 3-point shot by Ashlee Williamson and three field goal shots by Aven Kelly.

Kelsie Belquist and Ava Peterson answered back, with six points scored by Belquist and four by Peterson.

But the Sentinels were able to score seven more points to lead the Rockets 16-10 at the end of the first quarter.

The Rockets came back fired up in the second quarter after Kaiya O'Connor swished two 3-point shots. With a field goal and a free-throw, O'Connor scored nine of the 17 points in the second quarter for the Rockets.

Kelly swished three more field goals for the Sentinels in the second quarter. With seven additional points for Minot North, they held a 2-point lead at the half, 29-27.

The Sentinels kicked off quarter three with a shot from the paint to add two points to the scoreboard. But the Rockets answered with a steal and a two-point shot by Belquist.

Minot North wasn't ready to back down. The Sentinels scored 11 more points in the third – with nine coming from 3-pointers.

The Rockets tied the game up at 42-42 with points from Belquist, O'Connor and Peterson.

Quarter four meant crunch time.

The Rockets started to speed things up and put the pressure on.

Only nine points were allowed for the Sentinels, versus the Rockets 19 points.

The Rockets came away with a 61-51 victory over the Minot North Sentinels.

In double digits for the Rockets were Belquist with 27, Peterson with 18 and O'Connor with 14. NR-S senior Lora Wobbema was the only other player able to score points for the Rockets, with a total of two.

As for the Sentinels, Kelley led with 18 followed by Elli Laskowski with 11.

With this win, the Rockets moved on to play the TGU Titans.

The Rockets knew the Titans were a fast-paced team, so they came out early and ready to dominate.

Just in the first quarter, the Rockets scored 13 points to the Titans nine.

Quarter two went quite similar, but the Rockets only allowed the Titans to score seven points. Belquist, Wobbema, Peterson and Katie Allmaras combined scored 17 points to hold a 30-16 lead at the half.

The Titans began to fight back in the third quarter, with Sophie Bachmeier and Ashley Martodam taking charge and starting to lighten the Rockets' lead.

However, the Rockets didn't give much leeway to the Titans, as they scored 13 points versus the Titans' 19. The Titans brought the Rockets' lead down to a measly eight points.

The Titans pushed harder than ever in the fourth quarter. With key 3-point shots by Bostyn Bailey and Addison Neshem, the Titans were able to outscore the Rockets 57-56 to move on to the championship game against the Rugby Panthers.

Belquist led the Rockets in points, with a total of 21. Also scoring in double digits were Peterson with 12 and Allmaras with 10.

Top scorers for the Titans were Neshem with 17, Martodam with 15 and Bailey with 11.

With the loss to the Titans, the Rockets were set to play for third/fourth place against the Region 2 competitors – the St. John Woodchucks.

This game was unlike the other two games for the Rockets. Shots were put up, but only a few made it into the basket.

The Woodchucks took a healthy 9-point lead after the first quarter, with 3-point shots by Aubree Jeanotte and Kennley Davis.

And this was just the start of Jeanotte's 3-pointers of the night.

Jeanotte swished another 3-pointer in the second quarter for the Woodchucks, along with Alani Morin.

Belquist scored her first points of the night in the second quarter, with a total of six. The Rockets were down 14-25 at the half.

The Rockets motivation changed at the half, as they came out on the court ready to fight for the win.

O'Connor was found from beyond the arc to swish two three-pointers for the Rockets. O'Connor also was able to drive in to the basket to score two field goals as well.

Shots from beyond the arc were the name of the game for the Woodchucks in quarter three, with three coming from Jeanotte and another one coming from Morin.

Belquist scored three more field goals for the Rockets. And with Peterson's four points the Rockets brought the Woodchucks' lead down to only seven.

Points were hard to come by in the fourth quarter.

O'Connor swished her third 3-pointer of the night for the Rockets, followed by a 3-pointer by Belquist.

But it wasn't enough to stop the Woodchucks.

With Jeanotte's sixth 3-pointer of the game, the Woodchucks had defeated the Rockets 50-45 to take third place at the CNDC tournament.

Jeanotte led the Woodchucks to victory with a total of 20 points. Kaycee Desjarlais followed closely behind with a total of 11 points.

As for the Rockets, Belquist and O'Connor were the only two to score in double digits – Belquist with 19 and O'Connor with 13.

The Rugby Panthers took their eighth CNDC championship win after defeating the TGU Titans 59-57 in overtime.

CNDC Tournament

First Round

NR-S 61, Minot North 51

Thursday, Nov. 30

at Rugby

NR-S: 10 17 15 19 - 61

Minot: 16 13 13 9 - 51

NR-S: Kelsie Belquist 27, Ava Peterson 18, Kaiya O'Connor 14, Lora Wobbema 2. Totals: 27 FG, 5-11 FT, 9 fouls. 3-pointers: O'Connor 2.

Minot North: Aven Kelly 18, Elli Laskowski 11, Addy Clark 7, Gracen Rorem 7, Ashlee Williamson 3, Kaydee Nelson 3, Kinzy Welstad 2. Totals: 22 FG, 1-4 FT, 16 fouls. 3-pointers: Clark 2, Rorem 1, Nelson 1, Laskowski 1, Williamson 1.

CNDC Tournament

Semifinals

NR-S 56, TGU 57

Friday, Dec. 1

at Rugby

NR-S: 13 17 13 13 - 56

TGU: 9 7 19 22 - 57

NR-S: Kelsie Belquist 21, Ava Peterson 12, Katie Allmaras 10, Lora Wobbema 6, Addysen Fandrich 4, Kaiya O'Connor 3. Totals: 25 FG, 4-14 FT, 13 fouls. 3-pointers: Belquist 1, O'Connor 1.

TGU: Addison Neshem 17, Ashley Martodam 15, Bostyn Bailey 11, Sophie Bachmeier 8, Lily Lageson 4. Totals: 22 FG, 7-12 FT, 14 fouls. Fouled out: Bachmeier. 3-pointers: Neshem 2, Bachmeier 1, Bailey 1.

CNDC Tournament

3rd Place

NR-S 45, St. John 50

Saturday, Dec. 2

at Rugby

NR-S: 5 9 20 11 - 45

St. John: 14 11 16 9 - 50

NR-S: Kelsie Belquist 19, Kaiya O'Connor 13, Ava Peterson 8, Katie Allmaras 2, Lora Wobbema 2, Addysen Fandrich 1. Totals: 18 FG, 5-9 FT, 10 fouls. 3-pointers: O'Connor 3, Belquist 1.

St. John: Aubree Jeanotte 20, Kaycee Desjarlais 11, Alani Morin 8, Kennley Davis 5, Kaydence DeCoteau 4, Eliza Slater 2. Totals: 18 FG, 5-8 FT, 11 fouls. 3-pointers: Jeanotte 6, Morin 2, Davis 1.