Bearcats girls pummel Storm and Gators at home

By Coach Mark Johnson
KCC 73 – SAC 39
KCC hosted the Stephen-Argyle Storm on Monday, Jan. 20 at Kittson Central. It was the second time the two teams had played each other, with the Bearcats taking the first matchup 82-44 in December.
The Bearcats got out of the gates quickly and sprinted to a 32-6 lead. KCC’s defense suffocated the Storm offense and the Bearcats kept converting on the opportunities they created. KCC shot over 51% from the field in the first half of play while holding the Storm below 30% from the field on 14 fewer shot attempts. The Bearcats controlled the entire first half of play and posted a 38-14 halftime advantage.
KCC kept the momentum going in the second half. The Bearcats continued to play inspired defense and made every possession for the Storm a challenge. KCC’s shooting percentage dipped below 50% in the second half, while the Storm’s climbed to 50%, but the Bearcats still held SAC to 10 fewer field goal attempts over the second half of play.
The Bearcats cruised to a 73-39 win and swept the season series with the Storm.
It was a good overall effort for us. No one took a possession off. We consistently took care of our responsibilities and were quick to recognize help situations.
Scoring leaders: Morgan Turn 20, Greta Kuznia 18, Kaydence White 9, McKinley Folland 9, Afton Lindgren 6, Berlyn Strege 5, Lily Peterson 2, Aliyah Vig 2, Hanna Warnke 2
Rebound leaders: Kaydence White 10, McKinley Folland 7
Assist leaders: Lily Peterson 4, Aliyah Vig 2, Berlyn Strege 2, Morgan Turn 2, McKinley Folland 2
KCC 78 – BGMR 59
The Bearcats hosted a second rematch game on Thursday, Jan. 23 in Lancaster against the BGMR Gators. KCC took the first contest 80-51 right at the beginning of the season.
The two teams played even for the opening minutes of the contest until KCC’s depth started to wear down the Gators. The game was knotted up at 11-11 when the Bearcats cranked up their defensive pressure and went on a 37-14 run to get out of the first half with a 48-25 lead.
The Bearcats controlled the game throughout most of the second half and pushed their lead out to 31 points late in the game. The Gators made a dent in the KCC lead late in the game and closed the final margin of victory to 19 points at 78-59. The win moved the Bearcats’ record to 14-1 on the season.
We did a very good job of dictating the pace of the game. We kept up our intensity and flew around the court on defense. We got careless with our boxout responsibilities and started to give them second-chance points as the game progressed, but all in all it was a good win for us.
Scoring leaders: Morgan Turn 22, Kaydence White 19, Greta Kuznia 19, McKinley Folland 8, Afton Lindgren 4, Berlyn Strege 2 Lily Peterson 2, Hanna Warnke 2
Rebound leaders: Kaydence White 11, McKinley Folland 3
Assist leaders: Morgan Turn 6, McKinley Folland 4, Berlyn Strege 3, Lily Peterson 3