(KFGO/KNFL) An 11:30 AM Wednesday tipoff is a high school basketball rarity, but that’s what awaited Kindred and Northern Cass as the second Region 1 girls basketball final was pushed back a day at NDSU. With Kindred’s quarterfinal game versus Tri-State moved to Tuesday night, that led to the rare Wednesday matchup.
Northern Cass started fast, and held off every Kindred comeback to win 69-54 and advance to the championship game for the second straight season. The Jaguars move to 18-4 with the victory.
Northern Cass built a 19-10 lead after one quarter. Three-pointers from Addy Rust and Halle Crockett stretched the lead to 25-10 early in the second quarter. Kindred answered with a 9-0 run to cut it to 25-19. It was a 31-23 Jaguars’ lead at the half.
Northern Cass built up the lead again, this time to 43-26 midway through the third quarter. Again, Kindred fought back. A 10-1 run was cappd off by a Charli McQuillan three-point play to make iit 44-36 with 1:13 to go in the 3rd quarter. The Jaguars were able to finish the game from the free-throw line, going 11-12 in the final quarter.
Junior post Josie Jensen had a huge game for the Jaguars with 21 points, 17 rebounds, and five blocked shots. Halle Crockett was next for Northern Cass with 17 points. Freshmen Laela Eisenschenk led the Vikings with 17 points. It’s the first time since 2014 that Kindred will not be in the Region 1 final.
Northern Cass will face Central Cass on Friday night at 7:45 at NDSU in the Region 1 final. The Squirrels beat the Jaguars 65-50 on January 5th in Casselton. Kindred faces Sargent County for third place at 6:00 PM Friday. Both games will be on 740 The FAN, 107.3 FM, and 740thefan.com.
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