Watford girls improve to 11-3
By Neal A. Shipman
Farmer Editor
Beach was too much for Watford City’s varsity girls basketball team as the Wolves fell to the Bucs, 75-49, last week. But the Wolves rebounded from the loss to pick up wins over Divide County and Bowman County to improve their season record to 11-3.
This week, the Wolves will host Beulah on Friday before traveling to Heart River on Saturday. Watford City will close out this week’s schedule when they host Hazen on Tuesday, Feb. 11.
Beach 75, Watford City 49
Behind a solid first half, which saw Beach outscore Watford City, 46-22, the Bucs handed the Wolves their third loss of the season.
“Beach stuck it to us early,” stated John Zenz, Wolves’ head coach. “We got out-hustled and out-worked as they played well and really executed.”
Beach led the Wolves, 24-13, at the end of the first quarter and by 24 points at halftime.
While Watford City played better in the second half, the damage was already done. The Wolves were outgunned by the Bucs, 19-9, in the third quarter and then outscored Beach, 18-10, in the final eight minutes.
But according to Zenz, the loss was a learning experience for his team.
“It showed us that we have some work to do to be considered a top-of- the-line team,” stated Zenz.
Katie Mogen had a huge game for the Wolves as she posted a double-double with 25 points and 10 rebounds that went along with one assist, one steal and two blocked shots.
Rounding out the scoring for Watford City was Ricki Lindley with seven points, Lea Arndt with five points, Amanda Mogen with four points, Elise Hadley and Mackenzie Sparby with three points each and Jeanna Zenz with two points.
For the game, the Wolves shot 33 percent from the field, hitting on 17 of 51 attempts and were good on six of 12 at the free-throw line.
Watford City 13 22 31 49
Beach 24 46 65 75
Watford City 50, Divide County 42
Watford City used a solid first half of play to open up an 11-point halftime margin over Divide County as the Wolves coasted to a 50-42 win on Friday night.
“We struggled to score and missed some easy opportunities and let Divide County get back into the game in the third quarter,” stated Zenz. “But our junior varsity posts really came in and played well for us. Kaitlyn, Mackenzie and Alyssa combined for 22 points.”
The Wolves jumped out to an early 14-7 first quarter lead and were never challenged in the contest. Watford City led the Maroons, 31-20, at halftime and, 40-36, at the end of three quarters.
Kaitlyn Grimes led the Wolves in scoring with 12 points, while Amanda Mogen and Mackenzie Sparby netted eight points each in the win.
Also scoring for Watford City was Kara Langerud with seven points, Ricki Lindley and Katie Mogen with four points each, Jeanna Zenz with three points, while Lea Arndt and Alyssa Prichard netted two points each.
Langerud led the Wolves with five steals, while Amanda Mogen had four assists and four steals.
For the game, the Wolves shot 34 percent from the field, hitting on 20 of 58 attempts and were good on seven of 15 attempts at the charity stripe.
Watford City 14 31 40 50
Divide County 7 20 36 42
Watford City 58, Bowman County 46
Watford City avenged its earlier loss to Bowman County as the Wolves rolled over the Bowman County Bulldogs, 58-46, on Saturday afternoon.
“We shot a lot better and played a better game against Bowman County than we had against Divide County,” stated Zenz. “And we didn’t get into foul trouble and were able to extend our lead going into the final quarter.”
Watford City held Bowman County scoreless for the first three minutes of Saturday’s game as the Wolves were able to build a 16-9 first quarter lead.
And that lead, coupled with a tenacious defense, was enough to carry the Wolves to the win.
Katie Mogen had the hot hand for the Wolves as she poured in a game high 25 points, while grabbing eight rebounds.
The Wolves led the Bulldogs, 29-18, at halftime and by 18 points, 47-29, after three quarters of play.
Rounding out the scoring for Watford City was Amanda Mogen and Kaitlyn Grimes with eight points, each, Ricki Lindley with seven points, Kara Langerud with five points, Lea Arndt with three points and Tarynn Jacobson with two points.
For the game, Watford City shot 44 percent from the field, hitting on 21 of 48 attempts and was good on seven of 15 at the free-throw line.
Watford City 16 29 47 58
Bowman County 9 18 29 46