MINOT -- In a game with a number of turnovers and plenty of scoring opportunities for both teams, the Carrington Cardinals held off Langdon-Edmore-Munich 45-39 on Thursday night in the final game of the opening round of the North Dakota state Class B girls basketball tournament.
When something unexpected happens, like a number of turnovers, it’s nice to stick to what got a team to where it is today. For Carrington head coach Andy Braaten, taking care of the glass and play in the paint are what his team relied on.
“Our size and being able to take care of the boards,” he said following the quarterfinal win, “Every shot they threw up I thought we took care of it. For the most part, we did a good job on the boards and we need that.”
Carrington pushed past a slow start in the opening quarter but allowed too many mistakes in transition to where it could not cut into the Langdon-E-M lead. LEM’s four steals led to its early lead with Whitney Pankratz collecting five points off of turnovers and a 14-9 lead for LEM, the defending state champion.
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These mistakes would quickly be patched up in the second quarter as two 3-pointers from Lexus Page and a third from Emma Rindy would let the Carrington pull ahead 26-22.
After the first half, Carrington’s efficient shooting rewarded them with the 30-25 lead. Following the 7-2 start for LEM in which Carrington was 1-for-6 from the field, it was more selective with their shots and completed 10 of 14 after.
“We really relied on our defense stopping their shots and then just bringing that down to the other end and trying to reduce the number of turnovers. Keep it low and get it in the basket,” Hagel said.
Hannah Hagel put together 10 points, three assists and four rebounds for a first half total. Lexus Page’s two 3-pointers pushed her first half line to nine points to go along with her four rebounds and two assists.
“These kids played a double-overtime game last Thursday. (Hagel) played 40 minutes and the rest of them played 38, so we’re in game shape,” Braaten said.
Langdon-Edmore-Munich hoped its depth scoring could spark something coming out of the halftime break. In the first half, LEM Cardinals rotated in six from the bench and those players contributed 15 points.
The second half started with Langdon-Edmore-Munich getting the turnovers it needed to build a run, but the Cardinals could not convert on those chances. Too many times for LEM would a steal or turnover in its favor result in possession going the other way soon after. The Langdon Cardinals led the turnover margin, but only Carrington picked up points off of turnovers.
LEM trailed 36-31 going into the final quarter..
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“You just have to play where the kids are doing strong and if the kids seem like they are up to task we continue to play them,” Braaten said.
Holding a two-possession lead, Carrington played a bend-don’t-break strategy with a long possession for Langdon-Edmore-Munich featuring three offensive rebounds, but no points to show for them. The LEM Cardinals crept back with back-to-back Morgan Freije layups to make it a four point game, but Carrington would hold.
“It builds up our confidence because they don’t make their shots but we know that we have to keep boxing out harder and try to get more rebounds because we know we’re not supposed to let them get that many rebounds,” Hagel said.
Sydnie Grager led all Cardinals with 15 points and seven rebounds on the night while Page and Hagel contributed 11 points to go with the respective four and seven rebounds.
Carrington 45, Langdon-E-M 39
Halftime: Carrington 30, Langdon-E-M 25
Langdon-Edmore-Munich -- Jalynn Swanson 2, Kaylee Lowery 3, Morgan Freije 14, Jaya Henderson 3, Lexis Olson 5, Whitney Pankratz 5, Cory Badding 7
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Carrington -- Bmmy Rindy 5, Kenzie Edland 3, Lexus Page 11, Sydnie Grager 15, Hannah Hagel 11
