Sue Sitter/PCT Rugby’s Joran Jundt moves past Bottineau Stars guards for a shot in the championship round of the District 11 Girls’ Basketball Tournament in Rugby Feb. 11.

Triumphs, trophies and a few tears marked the last District 11 girls’ basketball tournament to be played before the North Dakota High School Activities Association reclassifies teams in the state.

Advancing to regionals at the Minot State Dome Monday, Feb. 20 are the first-seed Rugby Panthers, second-seed Bottineau Stars, third-seed Nedrose Cardinals and fourth-seed TGU Titans.

The climb to the Region 6 tourney began Feb. 9 in Rugby High School’s Charlie Hanneman Gym, when the Stars handily defeated Velva 62-27. Westhope-Newburg’s Sioux had similar results, its aggressive style overwhelming the Drake-Anamoose Raiders 64-47.

The Nedrose Cardinals and TGU Titans battled back and forth to a slim 70-66 Cardinals win.

The Titans took advantage of their second chance for a playoff berth by defeating Velva’s Aggies 65-30 in the loser-out game on day two. TGU would keep climbing until it secured a spot for regionals.

The Stars dominated the Nedrose from the first quarter of the semifinals 68-34. Bottineau’s defense and double-digit scores from key players Kylie Simpson, Hallie Nero, Kyra Beckman and Madeline Guariglia gave the crowd a preview of what to expect in the championship round.

Rugby met Westhope-Newburg on the court next. Rugby found its aggression matched by the fearless Sioux. The 68-46 final score belied the fight on the floor led by top scorer Ellie Braaten, who totaled 29 points. Teammate Kimberly Taberez also proved a force to be reckoned with, scoring 13 points.

But Rugby stayed in control of the game. Forward Kendyl Hager led the Panthers with 23 points, 21 of them from distance shots. Forward Mykell Heidlebaugh landed buckets inside the paint, and took a few opportunities for three-pointers as well.

“Westhope’s a very good basketball team,” Rugby Head Coach Jennifer Brossart said after the game. “They’re very well-coached. We knew they weren’t going to just lay down,” she added. “Ellie Braaten’s one of the best ball players. So, I thought for the most part, until that fourth quarter, we kept her at bay.”

“Then, unfortunately, we let her go a little bit and let (the Sioux) in the game a little bit,” she added. “We bent a little bit, but we didn’t break. I was very happy with our girls.”

Emotional championship round

Emotions ran high on the tournament’s last day Feb. 11.

The battle-tested Sioux squared off against the Titans first.

At the game’s beginning, both teams traded leads. The Titans struggled to contain Braaten and Taberez, while the Sioux fought to hold back the Titans’ Sophie Bachmeier and Ashley Martodam.

The first quarter ended with the Sioux ahead 23-21.

The furious battle continued, with each team racking up fouls. Taberez, Karen Cordero Solis and Braaten went to the free throw line, together making 83% of their shots.

The halftime buzzer sounded with both teams tied 39-39.

The Titans pulled away for a narrow 56-52 lead in the third quarter before Addison Neshem put TGU ahead 66-63 with a distance shot. Braaten answered with one for the Sioux, tying the score again.

As the clock ran down, the battle-worn Sioux suffered casualties. Two Westhope-Newburg players fell to the floor with injuries. Forward Marleigh Henry fouled out of the game.

Before that, Josie Bryn fouled out for TGU. Fouls began to hurt both teams, but TGU’s Martodam and Bachmeier saw more success at the free throw line.

Just before the end-game buzzer sounded with the Titans leading 76-68, Braaten made a last-ditch attempt at a three-pointer. The shot bounced away, and as the buzzer sounded, she collapsed in tears.

Head Coach Mattie Schmitt of TGU hugged Braaten as the teams left the court.

Drake-Anamoose saw its hopes for a spot at regionals end when the Nedrose Cardinals established an early lead, turning it into a 53-31 win.

Final battle

The Panthers and Stars took the floor next.

Bottineau forward Kyra Beckman put the first two points on the board for the Stars.

Rugby answered with a bucket from Peyton Hauck, who would find ways around tough Stars guards for open shots throughout the half.

Hager launched a three-pointer next. Forwards Joey Wolf and Lacie Deplazes each fought their way into the paint to land buckets and draw fouls. Each made 100% of her shots in the first quarter, which ended with a narrow 18-14 Rugby lead.

The Stars fought to narrow the gap, with Simpson and Nero getting past Rugby’s defense. But Rugby’s defense stayed tougher, limiting the Stars to nine points. The Panthers, meanwhile, put 14 more on the board, with six of the points from shots by Hauck.

The half ended with a 32-23 Panthers lead.

The Stars launched a tougher offensive after halftime, led by Simpson and Beckman, who would lead Bottineau scorers with 16 game points.

Bottineau’s defense did little to stop the Panthers’ momentum, however. Rugby outscored the Stars 16-10.

As the battle intensified, so did Rugby’s defense.

Turnovers mounted for Bottineau, dimming hopes for a fourth-quarter comeback. Rugby’s Wolf and Heidlebaugh found even more inside shots. Another three-pointer from Hager and one from guard Megan Buckmeier sealed a 63-37 Panthers victory, giving Rugby the final title in District 11 history.

Last District 11 title for Panthers

“This is the last District 11 Girls’ Basketball Tournament that will be played,” Rugby High School Athletic Director Scott Grochow announced after the game. “We hope you enjoyed it.”

Velva, TGU and Drake-Anamoose will remain class B schools under the new NDHSAA system, while Bottineau, Rugby and Nedrose will move into a newly-formed class A. Most former class A schools will move into a new AA class.

“I liked how we attacked the basket. I really did,” Brossart said of the Panthers after the team posed for photos.

“I felt with the last two basketball games, we kind of lacked that. We settled too much for the outside shot. I think tonight we even shot from the outside too much, and we settled and could have pushed that factor a little bit more, but I was really happy with our inside play overall,” she said.

Heidlebaugh said as the Panthers put more distance ahead of the Stars, “We knew we just had to keep our energy up and we had to keep playing together as a team, and as we got farther apart from the Stars, the more fun it got.”

Hauck, whose 12 points scored in the first half made a big difference for Rugby, said, “I just tried to do my best to find an open spot and stay fired up. That was the key.”

“I think I just finally found my confidence and just went for it,” she added.

“Peyton was spot on,” Brossart said. “We talked about the game and she was so focused and executed everything we talked about. She got boards, she scored for us, she played defense, I mean, just an all-around, phenomenal player tonight and all the time.”

“But she does a lot of this stuff and it’s unseen, but when she plays for us, man, we play well,” she added.

Brossart characterized the Stars as “fighters.”

“They’re well-coached,” she said. “They’ve got great players. They’re going to represent our district very well at that region tournament. I hope next week, it’s District 11 match, that our district does well, and I think we will do well.”

Named to District 11’s final all-district team were Taryn Sieg, Drake-Anamoose; Kaydee Boyce, Nedrose; Bachmeier and Bostyn Bailey, TGU; Braaten and Taberez, Westhope-Newburg; Simpson, Beckman and Nero, Bottineau, and Heidlebaugh, Hager and Wolf, Rugby.

The District 11 2023 Senior Athlete of the Year title went to Braaten. Schmitt of TGU was named District 11 2023 Coach of the Year.

The Panthers will square off against the Surrey Mustangs in the quarterfinal round of the Region 6 Girls’ Basketball Tournament Feb. 20 at 6 p.m. in the Minot State University Dome.