Bearcat girls defeat Patriots, Green Wave for 5-0 record

By Editor | January 7, 2025 |

By Mark Johnson
KCC 80 – WEM 19
The Win-E-Mac Patriots traveled north on Tuesday, Dec. 10 to try their luck against the Bearcats. It turned out to be a tough night for the visitors as the Bearcats got it going early and took control of the game from the opening tip.
KCC sprinted out of the gates and jumped out to a 19-2 lead and never looked back. The Bearcats took their full-court pressure off early in the game but continued to play relentless half-court defense and keep the Patriots continuously under stress. KCC repeatedly forced the Patriots into turnovers and then hit the accelerator and attacked on the offensive end. If they didn’t get points in transition, they pulled it out and attacked through the post and utilization of good ball reversal action on offense. KCC cruised to a 44-9 halftime lead and had total control of the contest.
The second half didn’t get any better for the visitors. The Bearcats continued to put the ball in the basket and kept building their lead possession by possession. The KCC defense continued to swarm the Patriots and never gave them a chance to find any kind of rhythm. It was Bearcats from start to finish, as they rolled to an 80-19 win and moved their season record to 4-0.
We did a good job of keeping our defensive intensity ramped up. We went away from designed pressure early in the game, but the girls maintained their defensive aggression in our half-court defensive play and didn’t let the score dictate how hard they were going to work.
Scoring leaders: Kaydence White 17, Greta Kuznia 15, Morgan Turn 12, Hanna Warnke 9, Kasey Waling 8, Berlyn Strege 6, Afton Lindgren 4, McKinley Folland 4, Hadley Nordin 3, Aliyah Vig 2
Rebound leaders: Kaydence White 9, Berlyn Strege 6, McKinley Folland 5
Assist leaders: Morgan Turn 2, Berlyn Strege 2

KCC 80 – EGF 70
KCC got a chance to test their mettle and see how resilient they could be on Friday, Dec. 13 at Kittson Central against the East Grand Forks Senior High Green Wave. The last time these two teams faced off they handed the fans a 101-97 double overtime thriller. While this year’s contest didn’t go into overtime it still provided the fans with an entertaining and competitive basketball game.
The Bearcats and Green Wave battled back and forth through the opening six minutes of play with EGF holding a 9-8 advantage. KCC went on a quick 7-0 run to take a 15-9 lead. The Bearcats’ stingy defense kept the clamps on the EGF offense and slowly built a 28-16 lead midway through the first half. Green Wave found a bit of an answer and chipped away at the KCC lead and closed it to 30-22 on a banked in three-point shot. Each time the Green Wave converted on the offensive end the Bearcats found an answer and kept their working lead of 8 points intact and posted a 40-32 lead at halftime.
KCC came out early in the second half and started to work the ball inside and forced EGF to collapse on defense to try and defend against the Bearcats’ post advantage. KCC pushed their lead back out to 13 points and had a chance to try and put the game out of reach, but foul trouble started to mount for the Bearcats and EGF fought their way back into the game eventually closing the lead to a single point at 55-54.
KCC once again had an answer and knocked down a big three-pointer to regain momentum and control of the game at 58-54. The Bearcats’ team defense took over the game down the stretch and forced Green Wave into difficult low percentage shots and turnovers to pull away and claim the 80-70 win, a hard-fought contest. The win moves KCC’s record to 5-0 on the season.
It was the best test we have had so far. Every time EGF tried to make a run we found and answer. Sometimes it was on the offensive end of the floor, but just as often it was a big defensive play to regain possession of the ball. We played a good overall game. The girls deserve a great deal of credit for how focused they stayed on both ends of the floor.
Scoring leaders: Morgan Turn 25, Greta Kuznia 20, Kaydence White 15, Lily Peterson 7, McKinley Folland 6, Berlyn Strege 5, Hanna Warnke 2
Rebound leaders: Kaydence White 9, Berlyn Strege 6, McKinley Folland 5
Assist leaders: Berlyn Strege 2, Morgan Turn 2

BEARCAT MORGAN TURN led her team in baskets against EGF Green Wave with 25. The Bearcats defeated the EGF team 80-70 during a double header with the boys teams on Friday, Dec. 13. (Photo courtesy of KC Media Arts)

KAYDENCE WHITE, #13, for the Bearcats, goes to the net for her team during the Bearcats 80-70 win over the EGF Green Wave. White had 15 points and 9 rebounds in the contest. (Photo courtesy of KC Media Arts)

BEARCATS #1 HANNA WARNKE AND #22 GRETA KUZNIA surround a WEM player during the Bearcats 80-19 win over the Patriots. (Photo courtesy of KC Media Arts)

McKinley Folland shoots free throws during the Beacats 80-19 win over the Win-E-Mac Patriots on Tuesday, Dec. 10. Folland had 4 points and 5 rebounds for the Bearcats. (Photo courtesy of KC Media Arts)