March 14, 2012

Wolves down NSP to take 3rd at Region 8

By Neal A. Shipman
Farmer Editor

Watford City very nearly pulled off the upset of the season in semifinal action of the Region 8 Girls Basketball Tournament on Tuesday as the Wolves lost in the final seconds to the undefeated New Town Eagles.
The Wolves then found themselves edging the North Shore-Plaza Wildcats on a buzzer beater of their own to claim third place in the tournament.
The Wolves, who were also the third place finishers in the District 15 Tournament, ended their season with a 21-4 record.

Region 8 Tournament Semifinals
New Town 56, Watford City 53

Last Tuesday evening Watford City was poised to do what no other team had so far this season been able to accomplish. And that would have been to beat the New Town Eagles; and in the process, quite possibly clear a path to a return trip to the State Class B Girls Basketball Tournament.
But poor free-throw shooting, too many turnovers by the Wolves and some last second heroics by New Town ended Watford City’s dreams of a return to the State Class B as the Wolves fell to the Eagles, 56-53, in the semifinals of the Region 8 Tournament. For the game, the Wolves committed 25 turnovers and only connected on 14 of 32 attempts at the charity stripe.
But in spite of turnovers and 44 percent shooting at the charity stripe, Watford City definitely gave the Eagles a run for their money as Watford City led New Town, 16-11, at the end of the first quarter. New Town would take advantage of a 10-0 scoring run to end the first quarter and to start the second quarter to get back into the game.
But Watford City responded to the Eagles’ challenge by going on a 14-8 scoring spree of their own to post a 30-25 halftime lead.
Watford City continued to control the game throughout all of the third quarter and held a slim three-point, 43-40, lead going into the final eight minutes of play.
After a see-saw fourth quarter, which saw the lead change hands several times, Watford City’s Jessica Brown gave the Wolves a 53-52 lead with under a minute left in the game.
But New Town’s Baeleigh Brady dashed the Wolves’ hopes as she took the ball coast-to-coast to put the Eagles back on top and then seconds later drained a pair of free throws to seal the win.
Three Watford City players scored in double figures in the losing effort with Katie Mogen pacing the Wolves in scoring with 14 points, while McKayla Haugeberg and Brianna Allex netted 13 and 12 points, respectively.
Rounding out the scoring for the Wolves was Sadie Kieson with eight points, Jessica Brown and Amanda Mogen with three points each.
For the game, the Wolves shot 39 percent from the field, hitting on 15 of 39 attempts.
New Town        11    25    30    56
Watford City    16    30    43    53


Region 8 Tournament Third Place
Watford City 50, North Shore-Plaza 48

After losing to New Town on a heartbreaking last second shot in the regional semifinals, it was Watford City’s turn to pull out the win at the buzzer in the battle for third place against North Shore-Plaza.
And this time it was Amanda Mogen who provided the win for the Wolves as she grabbed an offensive board and canned the game winning basket as the clock ran out to give Watford City a 50-48 victory on Thursday evening.
In a low scoring game that saw both coaches give their entire squads a chance to play in their final game of the season, Watford City led the Wildcats 13-12 at the end of the first  quarter and by four points, 29-25, at halftime.
The Wolves would up their lead in the third quarter before North Shore-Plaza battled back to take the lead in the final four minutes of the fourth quarter.
It looked very well like the Wolves would end their season on a losing note when Charlie Hystad deadlocked the game at 48-48 with about a minute remaining in the contest. The Wildcats failed to convert on their next possession. And with the clock running out, an errant Watford City shot resulted in a scramble for the rebound with Mogen coming up with the loose ball and scoring to give the Wolves the win.
Katie Mogen and Charlie Hystad paced the Wolves in scoring with 13 and 12 points, respectively, while McKayla Haugeberg joined them in double figures with 10 points.
Also scoring for the Wolves was Brianna Allex with eight points, Amanda Mogen with five points, and Sadie Kieson with two points.
Rounding out the scoring for the Wolves was Sadie Kieson with eight points, Jessica Brown and Amanda Mogen with three points each.
For the game, the Wolves shot 37 percent from the field, hitting on 16 of 43 attempts and were good on 15 of 22 at the free throw line.
Watford City    13    29    42    50
NS-P                  12    25    35    48

WATFORD CITY WEATHER