Red River's hot shooting too much for West Fargo

The difference between a 3-point and an 18-point win was pretty simple for Grand Forks Red River.

"We shot the ball really well this time,'' Red River High School girls basketball coach Kent Ripplinger said.

Red River's hot shooting sparked the Riders to a 78-60 win against visiting West Fargo on Tuesday.

When the teams met earlier in the season, Red River rallied in the second half for a 64-61 win. But there was no need for a comeback in the rematch. Red River's offense got rolling early and finished with 58 percent shooting accuracy (29-of-50) from the field to result in the bigger margin of victory.

"We usually shoot (a percentage) in the upper 30s or low 40s,'' Ripplinger said. "This was a good night shooting for us, one of our better shooting games of the season.

"We played a little more under control. We didn't force things. We kept our poise and worked for good shots.''

Red River never trailed and pulled away early.

Alex Page had five points and Jadyn Sondrol four to lead a 14-0 run that put Red River up 25-8 with 10:48 left in the first half.

The Roughriders never relinquished the double-figure lead the rest of the way.

"That (run) was big, coming out and setting the tone,'' Ripplinger said. "And we played consistently after that. We kept playing with the lead and building on it. We've had some games where we came out, got on a run and built a lead, but then we gave away a big lead.''

Reserve Jordan Burris had six points in another 8-2 spurt that expanded Red River's lead to 43-25. The Riders held a 47-30 lead at halftime and led by as many as 26, when Kenady Steffan hit a fast-break layup with 4:43 left for a 75-49 advantage.

Red River posts Burris, Jade Azure and Shelby Frank were a combined 9-of-16 shooting and the Riders were 6-of-11 on 3-point attempts. West Fargo, on the other hand, was 5-of-24 on treys.

"We have good shooters,'' Packers coach Mike Benson said. "They just have to shoot with confidence.

"We got down early and Red River did a nice job. We had different times when we were closing the gap, but they'd hold (the lead).''

Steffan had 18 points to lead 9-3 Red River, with Page adding 15, Frank 13 and Jasmine Sondrol scoring 10 off the bench. McKenna Becher's 15 points led the 8-4 Packers, with Mariah Schatz adding 10.

1/3: Red River's Kenady Steffan looks across the court as she brings the ball up in the first half against West Fargo Tuesday. photo by Eric Hylden/Grand Forks Herald

2/3: Red River's Shelby Frank shoots over a West Fargo defender Tuesday at Red River. West Fargo's Grace Faiman (4) looks on. photo by Eric Hylden/Grand Forks Herald

3/3: Red River's Claire Leach chases a loose ball as West Fargo's Abby Donarski looks on in the first half Tuesday at Red River. photo by Eric Hylden/Grand Forks Herald