Overtime battle highlights MAAA consolation action

Valle Catholic 55, Bismarck 50

PARK HILLS – Freshman Lauren Staab provided six of her eight points in overtime to help the Valle Catholic girls basketball complete an MAAA tournament consolation bracket upset.

Junior guard Sydni Basler compiled 26 points, seven steals and six rebounds as the 11th-seeded Lady Warriors defeated No. 10 Bismarck 55-50.

Valle Catholic (5-17) watched an entire 18-point lead disappear in dramatic fashion, but still earned a chance to play West County for ninth place on Saturday.

Senior guard Alyssa Sago scored a game-high 28 points for Bismarck (9-11), and banked in a shot from one step behind the midcourt stripe as time expired in regulation.

Bismarck struck first in overtime to 48-46 when Sago buried a jumper in the lane, but a defensive rebound was thrown directly to Staab for a steal and tying basket.

Basler sank a pull-up jumper for a 52-48 Valle Catholic lead, and Staab answered a Sago layup with two clutch free throws in the closing seconds.

Both teams lost key post players to fouls in the fourth quarter. Brilee Henson had eight points and 19 big rebounds for Bismarck, while Allison Bahr provided 10 points and eight rebounds for Valle.

The Lady Warriors grabbed a 23-9 halftime lead behind 15 points and numerous steals from Basler that resulted in transition layups.

Bismarck endured a brutal 1-of-20 shooting performance from the field plus 21 turnovers during the first half, then trailed 29-11 following a basket by Taylor Siebert in the third quarter.

The Lady Indians got to within 32-21 on a 3-point play by Henson on an entry pass from Savannah Tate, then brought more intensity to complete the rally.

Sago delivered 15 fourth-quarter points after sitting more than five valuable minutes of the second with two personal fouls. A friendly roll on a drive cut the deficit to 40-39 with 2:32 left.

Bismarck missed four chances to tie or take the lead within the last minute of the fourth, including a traveling violation and a botched rebound that two players knocked out of bounds.

Sago caught an inbounds pass after Siebert split two free throws, and shot a desperation line drive that caromed through the net.

West County 45, Kingston 35

PARK HILLS – Alyssa Roever scored 18 points, and the West County girls maintained enough distance in the second half to edge Kingston 45-35 in the MAAA tournament consolation bracket.

Allee Drennen made 7-of-8 free throws while finishing with nine points, and Jordan Stevens chipped in seven for the Lady Bulldogs (14-8), who will play Valle Catholic on Saturday.

West County coaxed 23 Kingston turnovers, and created a 32-13 lead with a transition layup and 3-pointer by Roever triggered an 8-0 run to start the third quarter.

The Lady Cougars (6-15) battled back with an immediate 9-0 spurt. Taylor Farris scored twice in the post before Danielle Morrison sank a 3-pointer on a second chance.

Farris cut the deficit to 39-32 on two free throws with 4:52 remaining, but West County countered by pushing the tempo for layups by Roever and Drennen.

Morrison paced Kingston with 10 points. Farris grabbed 14 rebounds, and netted nine points to equal Hayley Jarvis, whose jumper to start the fourth quarter trimmed the margin to single digits.

A trio of 3-pointers by Roever and strong defense helped West County establish a 20-6 lead with six minutes remaining in the first half.

Cheyenne Young made three steals while Taylor Reed and Stevens added two apiece during first quarter action.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Bismarck 67, Fredericktown 64

PARK HILLS – The Fredericktown boys basketball team was less than two minutes away from snapping a 15-game losing streak on Wednesday night.

But a strong performance from sophomore guard Logan Dunn helped short-handed Bismarck emerge with a narrow 67-64 victory in the MAAA tournament boys consolation bracket.

Dunn finished with 24 points and put the Indians ahead to stay at 62-61 by converting a 3-point play on a heavy driving collision with 1:57 left.

Senior Bernard Dorsey used a jump stop inside to bring the Blackcats within 65-64, but Fredericktown fumbled away its final inbounds pass after Dunn tacked on two free throws.

Devon Warden contributed 12 points with nine rebounds, and Hunter Drake added 11 points with seven rebounds and five assists as Bismarck (15-7) earned a Saturday matchup with Valley.

Interior passing created open layups for Austin Droege and Grant Latham as Bismarck gained separation at 47-34 late in the third quarter.

But sophomore Logan Winkelman drained two of his five 3-pointers in response during an 8-0 spurt, and Jonathan Moore finished a powerful drive in the fourth to make it 51-47.

Moore answered a fourth-chance tip in by Warden with a triple from the left side, and Fredericktown (1-18) moved ahead 59-58 within a series of late lead changes.

Winkelman notched 16 of his game-high 26 points in the first half. Dorsey ended with 16 points and nine rebounds while Moore scored 13 for the Blackcats.

Drake set up Dunn and Warden with pinpoint bullet passes, and Jacob Reese beat the halftime buzzer from the baseline to help Bismarck grab a 35-30 lead.

The Indians played their second tournament game without leading scorer Austin Jarvis, and held an 18-13 edge following a putback from Warden.

Winkelman provided nine points within an 11-2 answer that propelled the Blackcats to its largest lead of 24-20.

Valley 60, Kingston 41

PARK HILLS – Sophomore guard Michael Presley scored 22 points, and Valley used a substantial turnover disparity to defeat Kingston 60-41 in the MAAA tournament boys consolation bracket.

Logan Lucas totaled 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists for the Vikings (9-11), who advanced to face Bismarck for the equivalent of ninth place on Saturday.

Valley never trailed after three layups by Lucas highlighted an opening 10-2 run, and forced Kingston into 22 turnovers while committing only seven.

Cole Ragan paced Kingston (6-17) with 14 points and 11 rebounds from a guard position. The Cougars twice drew to within seven in the third quarter.

Eli Hongsermeier-Baxter grabbed 14 rebounds, and scored inside on consecutive trips for Kingston to make the margin 45-37 with six minutes remaining.

Valley countered in transition as Lucas found Presley ahead with excellent outlet passes to spur an 8-0 spurt that sealed the outcome.

Presley and Lucas each sank two 3-pointers in the second quarter to help the Vikings establish a 28-16 cushion that became 31-20 at halftime.

Michael Wallace equaled Hongsermeier-Baxter with 11 points each, and had drawn the Cougars within 14-11 with a jumper.

Senior Dustin Payne finished a shot under heavy contact in response for Valley.

Matt King is the sports editor for the Daily Journal. Contact him at mking@dailyjournalonine.com