- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 367,016
- Reaction score
- 43
Mar. 13—FARGO — At the final buzzer, the Mandan girls basketball fans could finally breathe after watching their team go almost the entire final seven minutes without a field goal.
Grand Forks Red River's cheering section, meanwhile, was left to stew over a roller-coaster final minute.
In the end, Kimimila McAllister's free throws with 3.4 seconds left gave the Braves a 58-57 win over the Roughriders on Thursday in the North Dakota Division AA state girls basketball tournament quarterfinals at the Fargodome.
Red River, which hadn't led since 2-0, took a 56-54 lead with 64 seconds left after a 14-2 run.
Mandan's Sarah Helderop then tied the game at 56 with 48 seconds left on two free throws.
In a choppy game featuring 58 turnovers and 37 fouls, Red River missed its next four free throws. However, Reese Remz received an extra shot after Mandan committed a lane violation. Remz hit her re-do free throw for a 57-56 Rider lead with 10.6 seconds left.
Trailing by one with 5.7 seconds left, Mandan inbounded the ball from halfcourt and a wild pass was knocked out of bounds underneath the hoop.
The Braves retained possession with 4.9 seconds left. McAllister received the inbound pass just beyond the free-throw line. She made a move toward the basket, attempted a 12-foot jump shot and officials called a foul on Red River post Ella Speidel with 3.4 seconds to go.
Red River coach Kent Ripplinger approached halfcourt to voice his displeasure on the crucial moment.
"Sometimes the ball bounces your way and sometimes the calls go your way ... and sometimes they don't," Ripplinger said. "You can't control everything; that's all I know. I thought we defended it well."
After McAllister's game-winning free throws, Remz had a heave from beyond halfcourt hit the rim at the buzzer.
"We called a play that usually curls all the way back, but (McAllister) did a great job stopping in a little pocket there," Mandan coach Shannon Copas said of his final possession. "She got a good enough of a look and got fouled."
Mandan played without its top scorer. McKenna Johnson, a 6-foot-2 senior forward and North Dakota State commitment, was in a walking boot on the bench after suffering an injury during the West Region tournament. Johnson averages 13.8 points and 9.3 rebounds per game.
"We had stretches where we looked really good and stretches, obviously, where we didn't," Copas said. "We just became stagnant (in the second half) and didn't move the ball around. The ball wasn't moving, and we were telegraphing our passes. (Red River) was getting in lanes and getting steals."
AnnaClaire Bugbee finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Braves.
Remz paced Red River with 20 points and six steals. Hodny had 14 points.
Mandan led by 10 at halftime thanks to a half-closing 12-2 run. The Braves then led by as many as 11 in the second half and at 52-42 with 6:53 left in the game.
"Our girls play hard and with a lot of heart," Ripplinger said. "They weren't going to fold. They weren't anywhere near being done (after trailing by double digits). I figured we'd dig in and get stops."
Continue reading...
Grand Forks Red River's cheering section, meanwhile, was left to stew over a roller-coaster final minute.
In the end, Kimimila McAllister's free throws with 3.4 seconds left gave the Braves a 58-57 win over the Roughriders on Thursday in the North Dakota Division AA state girls basketball tournament quarterfinals at the Fargodome.
Red River, which hadn't led since 2-0, took a 56-54 lead with 64 seconds left after a 14-2 run.
Mandan's Sarah Helderop then tied the game at 56 with 48 seconds left on two free throws.
In a choppy game featuring 58 turnovers and 37 fouls, Red River missed its next four free throws. However, Reese Remz received an extra shot after Mandan committed a lane violation. Remz hit her re-do free throw for a 57-56 Rider lead with 10.6 seconds left.
Trailing by one with 5.7 seconds left, Mandan inbounded the ball from halfcourt and a wild pass was knocked out of bounds underneath the hoop.
The Braves retained possession with 4.9 seconds left. McAllister received the inbound pass just beyond the free-throw line. She made a move toward the basket, attempted a 12-foot jump shot and officials called a foul on Red River post Ella Speidel with 3.4 seconds to go.
Red River coach Kent Ripplinger approached halfcourt to voice his displeasure on the crucial moment.
"Sometimes the ball bounces your way and sometimes the calls go your way ... and sometimes they don't," Ripplinger said. "You can't control everything; that's all I know. I thought we defended it well."
After McAllister's game-winning free throws, Remz had a heave from beyond halfcourt hit the rim at the buzzer.
"We called a play that usually curls all the way back, but (McAllister) did a great job stopping in a little pocket there," Mandan coach Shannon Copas said of his final possession. "She got a good enough of a look and got fouled."
Mandan played without its top scorer. McKenna Johnson, a 6-foot-2 senior forward and North Dakota State commitment, was in a walking boot on the bench after suffering an injury during the West Region tournament. Johnson averages 13.8 points and 9.3 rebounds per game.
"We had stretches where we looked really good and stretches, obviously, where we didn't," Copas said. "We just became stagnant (in the second half) and didn't move the ball around. The ball wasn't moving, and we were telegraphing our passes. (Red River) was getting in lanes and getting steals."
AnnaClaire Bugbee finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Braves.
Remz paced Red River with 20 points and six steals. Hodny had 14 points.
Mandan led by 10 at halftime thanks to a half-closing 12-2 run. The Braves then led by as many as 11 in the second half and at 52-42 with 6:53 left in the game.
"Our girls play hard and with a lot of heart," Ripplinger said. "They weren't going to fold. They weren't anywhere near being done (after trailing by double digits). I figured we'd dig in and get stops."
Continue reading...
