Bearcats ground the Eagles and Falcons
By Coach Mark Johnson
KCC 71 – SH 55
KCC and Sacred Heart squared off in Hallock on Monday, Feb. 10 with the top spot in the Northern Galaxy Conference up for grabs. The Bearcats entered the contest undefeated in conference play, while the Eagles had just a single loss in conference action.
The Bearcats were the first to strike. KCC opened up the game with a pair of quick baskets that pushed them out to a 4-0 lead. Sacred Heart took a quick timeout to stem the tide, but the Bearcats came out with their full court pressure and put the clamps on the Eagle offense. They coupled the defensive pressure with solid offensive execution to jump out to double digit lead and grabbed control of the game. The Bearcats ran into a snag midway through the half with foul trouble and had to manage minutes to get to the end of the first half with a 37-26 lead.
KCC came out roaring in the second half of play and efficiently pushed their lead out to 31 points at 67-36 a little more than 6 minutes to go in the game. The Bearcat attack took a break over the final six minutes of game time and only managed 4 more points, but KCC coasted to the 71-55 win and took a stranglehold on the Northern Galaxy Conference race. The win moved the Bearcats one step closer to securing the top seed in the west sub-section tournament.
We executed on multiple levels against a very good team. Our pressure was effective in both the full court and the half court games. We attacked on the offensive end and survived some foul issues in the first half of play. Outside of the final six minutes or so we were clicking on all cylinders.
Scoring leaders: Kaydence White 21, Greta Kuznia 17, Morgan Turn 8, Hanna Warnke 8, Afton Lindgren 6, Berlyn Strege 5, McKinley Folland 4, Aliyah Vig 2
Rebound Leaders: Kaydence White 9, McKinley Folland 5, Berlyn Strege 5
Assist leaders: MorganTurn 5, Berlyn Strege 5
KCC 79 – F-B 59
The Bearcats headed south on Friday, Feb. 14 to face off with the Fertile-Beltrami Falcons. KCC was looking to continue their winning ways, while the Falcons were hoping to put an end to the Bearcats winning ways.
The answer came early in the game as the Bearcat offense dumped in basket after basket against the Falcon defense. KCC tallied 55 first-half points and just overwhelmed their opponent on the offensive end of the floor. It was a good thing the Bearcat offense was clicking, however, because they gave up 32 points on the other end of the floor and left the door open for the Falcons in the second half.
The KCC offense slowed down in the second half and only managed to score 24 points in the final half of play. The Falcon offense made a run at the Bearcats and closed the lead to 13 points with a little over four minutes left to play in the game. The Bearcats responded and went on an 11-4 run to close out the game and claim the 79-59 win and moved their season record to 21-1.
It felt like two different games for us tonight. We were dominant in the first half of play and controlled how the game was played. In the second half it felt like we were working hard and creating opportunities, but we just couldn’t finish plays consistently. Fertile hung tough and made us work hard for the win.
Scoring leaders: Kaydence White 21, Morgan Turn 17, Greta Kuznia 15, Lily Peterson 9, Berlyn Strege 8, McKinley Folland 4, Hanna Warnke 3, Afton Lindgren 2
Rebound leaders: Kaydence White 6, McKinley Folland 3, Lily Peterson 3, Afton Lindgren 3
Assist leaders: Berlyn Strege 4, Morgan Turn 3, Afton Lindgren 3, McKinley Folland 3
BEARCATS NO. 5 MORGAN TURN makes her way to the basket as Sacred Heart players surround her.
(KC Media Arts photo)
BEARCATS NO. 20 MCKINLEY FOLLAND catches a rebound during the Monday, Feb. 10 game against Sacred Heart in Hallock. Folland had 5 rebounds in the game as well as 4 points. (KC Media Arts photo)
BEARCATS NO. 22 GRETA KUZNIA and NO. 10 AFTON LINDGREN defend the basket against a Sacred Heart player on Monday, Feb. 10. (KC Media Arts photo)
SENIOR MORGAN TURN, Bearcats’ No. 5, scored her 2,000th point during the team’s game against the Fertile-Beltrami Falcons on Friday, Feb. 14. She is pictured here with her teammates and coaches. Front row, l-r, Hadley Nordin, Lily Peterson, Afton Lindgren, Kaydence White, Berlyn Strege, Turn, Hanna Warnke, Aliyah Vig, Greta Kuznia, McKinley Folland, Kasey Waling and Kamela Hanson. Coaches, l-r, Mark Johnson, Michael Steen and Nick Johnson. (KC Media Arts photo)
