AREA NOTEBOOK: North Star Bearcats are on a roll

So far in the young girls high school basketball season, no team in North Dakota has been better at scoring points than North Star.

The Bearcats are 3-0 and take the No. 1 seed into the Lake Region Invitational tournament, which runs today through Saturday in Devils Lake. North Star is averaging 83.7 points through its first three games.

According to the website minnesota-scores.net, which tracks prep scores and has updated standings in various Minnesota and North Dakota sports, North Star is the highest-scoring B team in the state.

"I don't know if it is us or the teams we've played," Bearcats coach Sherri Miller said of the scoring average. "We'll find out this weekend. I don't know if we'll do that (scoring) against teams like Lakota-Edmore and Carrington."

North Star's wins have been by 94-34 against Grafton, 71-39 against New Rockford-Sheyenne and 86-38 against Drayton/Valley-Edinburg. Those teams have a combined 4-11 record.

Balance has been the Bearcats' strength.

Freshman 6-foot-3 Macey Kvilvang (13.3 ppg, 12.3 rpg, 9 bpg) has been a force inside, while eighth-grader Stephanie Miller (11.3 ppg, 2.7 apg) adds perimeter scoring. But the leaders have been the versatile duo of 5-11 junior Sarah Hagler (21 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 3.7 apg, 3.7 spg) and 5-9 senior Allie Heisler (18.3 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 4.3 apg, 5 spg).

"We try to run," Sherri Miller said. "But it's not all fast-break points. Sarah gets a lot of putback points. She goes after the rebounds hard. So does Allie. Those two can hit outside shots or go to the basket to get points. They're good basketball players and good athletes.

"We have more than one or two girls who can score. That really helps."

North Star also has been stingy on defense. But, despite not allowing 40 points in a game yet, "I want our defense to improve," the North Star coach said. "We're working to get better. We do get sloppy sometimes."

North Star isn't the only team in the Lake Region tournament putting up a lot of points. Carrington (3-0) has the second-highest current scoring average in the state at 76.7 points and Lakota-Edmore (1-2) averages 64 points. All three teams have been in the top 10 in the weekly Class B state poll.

"It will be like a prelim to our regional tournament," Sherri Miller said. "Carrington and Lakota-Edmore, I believe, are two of the best teams in the state."

Up-and-down Roseau

Roseau is 6-4 after a roller-coaster ride through the first month of the boys basketball season.

The Rams started hot, winning three straight. Then they were one of the coldest teams in North Subsection 8AA, going through a four-game losing streak that included narrow two- and three-point setbacks. Now they're one of the hottest teams in the subsection again with three straight wins.

"It's hard to explain," Roseau coach Ken Hayden said. "As a coach, it isn't something you want to see."

Hayden said the strength of schedule has had something to do with the team's swings. But so has performance, where senior guard Jacob Eaton (24 ppg) has been the constant.

"Jacob's our go-to guy, and he has been pretty consistent," Hayden said. "We need him scoring big in every game. Our posts, Tayler Johnston and Ethan Johnson, have played well lately. And we need some other perimeter guys stepping up to help Eaton."

Chrest reaches 1,000

Cavalier senior Ryan Chrest reached the 1,000-point mark for his basketball career last week. Chrest scored 18 points against Pelican Rapids, giving him 1,008.

Chrest's 15.1 scoring average is actually down slightly from a year ago, when he averaged 18.3 points in leading the Tornadoes to the Region 2 championship. But his all-around game -- averages of 7.7 rebounds, 2.4 steals and 2.1 assists -- has improved.

"We have more balanced scoring this year," Cavalier coach Bryce Laxdal said. "The playmaking and the ballhandling, those are the areas we really need from Ryan. He's our leader.

"He's put on about 15 pounds since last season, and its all muscle. His rebounding, his steals, his assists, they're all up from a year ago."

Briefly

Bagley-Fosston wrestling coach Pat Wolfe recently recorded the 100th dual win of his coaching career. . . . Crookston's Emmanuel McCullough recently set a Pirates boys basketball single-game record when he grabbed 19 rebounds in a game. . . . Red Lake Falls' Corinna Huot, Lexi Hagl and Rylee Engelstad were named to the all-tournament team at the Walker-H-A girls basketball tournament. Red Lake Falls won the championship in the tournament's blue division. . . . Crookston boys basketball coach Greg Garmen registered the 300th win of his coaching career when the Pirates beat Red Lake 87-72 on Monday.

DeVillers reports on sports. Call him at (701) 780-1128, (800) 477-6572 ext. 1128 or send e-mail to gdevillers@gfherald.com .