Bearcats open section tournament with 2 wins

By Mark Johnson, coach

Section 8A Tournament Round of Sixteen
KCC 89 – RLCC 64
KCC started Section 8A post season play last Thursday at NCTC in TRF as a No. 3 seed against the No. 6 seed RLCC Mustangs. It marked the third time the two teams squared off this year with the Bearcats getting the upper hand in the first two contests.
The Bearcats got an early jump on the Mustangs putting up the first 6 points of the game and posting a quick 6-0 lead. KCC held a slim lead through the opening minutes of play until the Mustangs tied the game at 12-12 and again at 15-15, but from that point on the Bearcats would take the lead and never relinquish it. KCC pounded the ball inside to take advantage of the Mustang defense and when they started to collapse too much, they kicked it outside for high quality perimeter opportunities. The Bearcats systematically pulled away from the Mustangs and posted a 45-35 lead at the halftime break.
KCC continued to execute in the second half. The Bearcats made every possession for the Mustangs a challenge and did not give an inch on the defensive end of the floor. The KCC offense remained effective and efficient throughout the second half and just kept adding to their scoreboard advantage on seemingly every possession. KCC rolled to the 89-64 victory and advanced to the quarterfinal round of play in the Section 8A tournament.
The opening round games are always a little unsettling. We came out sharp and played to our strengths on both ends of the floor and never let our opponent get a good run at us. It was a good start to the tournament.
Scoring leaders: Greta Kuznia 37, Kaydence White 30, Brenna Turn 9, Afton Lindgren 9, Kasey Waling 4
Rebound leaders: Kaydence White 10, Afton Lindgren 8
Assist leaders: Hanna Warnke 6, Kasey Waling 3

Section 8A Tournament Quarterfinal
KCC 65 – LOW 24
The Bearcats returned to Thief River for the quarterfinal round of the Section 8A tournament at the REA to square off with the No. 2 seed from the East, the LOW Bears. The two teams had been scheduled to play each other in late January, but Mother Nature interfered and the game was never rescheduled.
It was all Bearcats from the opening tip in this matchup. KCC jumped out to a 9-0 lead and kept their foot on the accelerator. The Bearcats stumbled a bit offensively as the first half progressed, but their defense suffocated the Bears and held them to 11 points in the first half of play. KCC went to the break with a 29-11 advantage and solid control of the game.
The Bearcats picked up where they left off and continued to dominate play in the second half of action. The offense got back on track and picked apart the LOW defense. On the other end of the floor the Bearcat defense stayed on task and made every possession a struggle for the Bears. It was a wire-to-wire win for the Bearcats as they advanced to the semi final round of the Section 8A tournament and will face the No. 1 seed from the west, the Sacred Heart Eagles on Tuesday, March 3 at 7:30 back at the REA in Thief River.
We played a complete game. We had a few hiccups on the offensive end of the floor, but we never lost our focus or our primary objective. The entire team just kept working on every possession on both ends of the floor.
Scoring leaders: Kaydence White 20, Afton Lindgren 12, Greta Kuznia 12, Hanna Warnke 6, Kasey Waling 4, Sofie Bernstrom 4, Brenna Turn 3, Aubree Pankratz 2, Halle Hanson 2
Rebound leaders: Afton Lindgren 14, Kaydence White 11
Assist leaders: Kaydence White 4, Afton Lindgren 3