McKenzie County Farmer - Sports

By Neal A. Shipman
Farmer Editor

The Mandaree and Watford City girls basketball teams earned their spots in the upcoming Region 8 Tournament as the Warriors took second place falling to the Stanley Blue Jays 50-39 in the District 15 title game while the Wolves knocked off New Town 45-41 in the regional qualifying game on Saturday.
Mandaree advanced to the title game by defeating White Shield 83-20 and Parshall 45-33. Watford City opened the tournament with a 64-57 win over North Shore-Plaza before falling to Stanley 64-49.
In the Region 8 Tournament, which gets underway on Monday, Feb. 22 at Williston State College, Watford City, the No. 3 team from District 15, will take on Ray, the No. 2 team from District 16, at approximately 4:30 p.m., while the Warriors, the No. 2 team from District 15, will take on Burke County, the No. 3 team from District 16, 20 minutes following the Watford City game.

District 15 Tournament
First Round
Watford City 64, North Shore-Plaza 49
McKayla Haugeberg came off the bench to provide Watford City with the offensive fire power the Wolves needed to knock off North Shore/Plaza in opening round action of the District 15 Girls Basketball Tournament on Thursday afternoon.
Haugeberg, a freshman guard, knocked down five three-pointers for a game high 24 points to fire up the Wolves’ offense.
The Wolves jumped out to a 17-14  first quarter lead but trailed the Wildcats 34-33 at halftime.
But the Wolves took control of the game in the third quarter as Watford City went on an 18-8 scoring spree that put the game out of reach of the Wildcats.
In one of the Wolves best offensive outings of the season, joining Haugeberg in double digit scoring was Jayme Johnson and Olivia Sundeen with 10 points each.
Rounding out the scoring for the Wolves was Shakira McLaughlin with eight points, Alexis Sanford with five points, Marti Quale with three points, while Dani Bates and Sadie Kieson netted two points each.
For the game, the Wolves shot 23 of 53 from the field for 43 percent and were good on 11 of 15 at the charity stripe.
Watford City    17    33    51    64
NSP                   14    34    42    57n, 1; Sanford, 1. Blocks: Johnson, 1.

Mandaree 83, White Shield 20
In a game that was over almost before it started, Mandaree devoured the White Shield Warriors 83-20 in District 15 action on Thursday evening.
Mandaree led White Shield 24-4 at the end of the first quarter and then coasted to the easy win.
Four Mandaree players scored in double figures in the win with Desiraey Bolman pacing both teams in scoring with 17 points, while Toni Johnson netted 12 points and Kaelani Iu and Jada Charging ended the game with 10 points each.
Also scoring for Mandaree was Hailey Lincoln with nine points, Audrey Irwin with eight points, Maybella Lone Fight with seven points, Jasmine Charging with six points and Joni Wells with four points.
For the game, Mandaree was good on 35 of 71 attempts from the field for 49 percent and was good on eight of 13 at the charity stripe.
Mandaree     24    47    68    83
White Shield     4    6    14    20

Semifinals
Stanley 64, Watford City 49
Stanley’s size and quickness again proved to be too much for Watford City as the Blue Jays defeated the Wolves 64-49 in semifinal action of the District 15 Tournament on Friday.
The Blue Jays, who led throughout the game, led the Wolves 15-8 at the end of the first quarter and 35-20 at halftime. The Wolves were able to cut Stanley’s lead to 10 points, 44-34, at the end of the third quarter, but the Blue Jays would take the win.
Shakira McLaughlin and McKayla Haugeberg led the Wolves in scoring with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Rounding out the scoring for Watford City was Dani Bates with eight points, Jayme Johnson with seven points, Sadie Kieson with five points, while Marti Quale ended the game with four points.
For the game, the Wolves shot 16 of 36 from the field for 44 percent and were good on 17 of 22 at the charity stripe.
Watford City    8    20    34    49
Stanley           15    35    44    64

Mandaree 45, Parshall 33
A big first quarter that saw Mandaree hold Parshall scoreless while the Warriors went on a 13-0 scoring drive proved to be the key to an easy win in semifinal action of the District 15 Tournament for Mandaree.
Parshall would finally get its offense back on track as the Warriors cut Mandaree’s lead to eight points, 28-20, going into the final eight minutes of play, Mandaree would coast to the win.
Desiraey Bolman and Toni Johnson paced the Warriors in scoring with 16 and 10 points, respectively. Also scoring for Mandaree was Hailey Lincoln with eight points, Losa Iu with seven points, while Joni Wells and Jada Charging would end the game with two points each.
For the game, Mandaree shot 18 of 56 from the field for 32 percent and was good on six of 10 at the charity stripe.
Mandaree    13    23    28    45
Parshall          0    10    20    33

Championship
Watford City 45, New Town 41
With a 45-41 win over New Town  on Saturday afternoon in regional qualifying play, Watford City not only avenged their earlier season loss to the Eagles but also ensured that they would be advancing to the Region 8 Girls Basketball Tournament while New Town would be staying home.
In a close game from opening tip-off to the final buzzer, both teams played with an intensity that has become commonplace between the District 15 rivals.
Watford City controlled the game in the first quarter posting a 15-10 lead, but New Town came charging back in the second stanza to deadlock the game at 23-23 at halftime.
And the action didn’t slow down in the second half as both teams stepped up their defensive play as the score remained tied at 30-30 going into the final eight minutes of play.
While Watford City has had a tendency to let games slip away in the fourth quarter, the Wolves didn’t let this happen against the Eagles on Saturday as the Wolves built a small lead and then held on to take the win.
McKayla Haugeberg paced the Wolves in scoring with 16 points while Shakira McLaughlin netted seven points.
Rounding out the scoring for Watford City was Jayme Johnson and Dani Bates with six points each, Marti Quale and Olivia Sundeen with four points each and Stephanie Deutsch with two points.
For the game, the Wolves shot 16 of 47 from the field for 34 percent and were good on 12 of 23 at the charity stripe.
Watford City    15    23    30    45
New Town        10    23    30    41

Stanley 50, Mandaree 39
Stanley took advantage of Mandaree’s poor offensive output in the first and third quarters to win the District 15 championship on Saturday evening.
The Warriors found themselves trailing the Blue Jays 14-8 at the end of the first quarter of play. But Mandaree rallied in the second quarter outscoring Stanley 16-8 to take a 24-22 halftime lead.
Mandaree went ice cold offensively in the third quarter as the Warriors were only able to put four points on the scoreboard. And Stanley took advantage of the opportunity to build a seven-point lead going into the final eight minutes of play. Mandaree never made a challenge in the fourth quarter as the Blue Jays outscored them 17-11 in the final stanza.
Desiraey Bolman and Audrey Irwin paced the Warriors in scoring with 15 and 12 points, respectively. Also scoring for Mandaree was Toni Johnson with seven points and Losa Iu with five points.
For the game, Mandaree shot 20 of 46 from the field for 43 percent and was good on nine of 16 at the charity stripe.
Mandaree    8    24    28    39
Stanley       14    22    33    50