Wolves cruise to District 15 championship crown
By Neal A. Shipman
Farmer Editor
After receiving a first round bye in the District 15 Girls Basketball Tournament in Williston, Watford City’s varsity girls basketball team had an easy walk to the title game as the Wolves crushed the New Town Eagles, 73-33, in semifinal action.
And the Wolves continued to dominate the tournament as Watford City rolled over the Parshall Braves, 68-56, in the title game.
With the wins, the Wolves will be taking their 20-1 season record into the Region 8 Tournament which gets underway in New Town on Monday, Feb. 23.
Watford City 73, New Town 33
While New Town would get on the scoreboard first in the semifinal game of the District 15 Tournament on Friday evening, the Eagles would prove to be no match for the Wolves.
Watford City led the Eagles, 18-12, after the first quarter of play, and then held New Town to single-digit scoring in the next three quarters of action.
The Wolves led New Town, 41-18, at halftime and by 36 points, 61-25, going into the final eight minutes of play.
Ricki Lindley and Katie Mogen had the hot hands for Watford City as they netted 16 and 14 points, respectively, to lead the Wolves in scoring, while April Spruell ended the game with 10 points.
Rounding out the scoring for Watford City was Kara Langerud with nine points, Lea Arndt with seven points, Mackenzie Sparby with six points, Alyssa Prichard with five points, Tarynn Jacobson with four points and Krystal Wold with two points.
For the game, the Wolves hit on 31 of 74 attempts from the field and were good on six of 17 attempts from behind the three-point arc. At the free-throw line, Watford City was good on five of 12 attempts.
Watford City 18 41 61 73
New Town 12 18 25 33
Watford City Stats: Rebounds: Ricki Lindley, 7; Katie Mogen, 5; Lea Arndt, 3; Tarynn Jacobson, 3; Alyssa Prichard, 3; Alli Mogen, 3; Mackenzie Sparby, 2; Kara Langerud, 2; April Spruell, 1; Mikka Haugeberg, 1; ReiAnn Lindley, 1. Assists: K. Mogen, 8; Ricki Lindley, 4; Arndt, 3; Langerud, 2; Haugeberg, 1; A. Mogen, 1. Steals: K. Mogen, 8; Langerud, 3; Spruell, 2; Ricki Lindley, 1; Jacobson, 1. Blocks: Sparby, 1.
Watford City 68, Parshall 56
Watford City earned the No. 1 seed from District 15 in the upcoming Region 8 Girls Basketball Tournament as the Wolves rolled over the Parshall Braves, 68-56, in the District 15 championship game on Saturday evening.
Katie Mogen, who has been Watford City’s dominate scorer all season, definitely made her presence known in the title game as she netted a game high 29 points to propel the Wolves to the district title. She capped off the game with a double-double as she grabbed 15 rebounds and ended the game with four steals.
Watford City led the Braves, 23-16, after the first quarter of play and by six points, 35-29, at halftime.
The Wolves, who were never challenged in the game, continued to build on their lead in the second half behind a balanced scoring attack and a tenacious defense. Watford City led the Braves, 52-43, after three quarters of play and then coasted to the easy win.
Joining Mogen in double-figure scoring for Watford City was Ricki Lindley and Mackenzie Sparby with 15 and 10 points, respectively.
Rounding out the scoring for the Wolves was April Spruell with eight points, Kara Langerud with four points and Alyssa Prichard with two points.
For the game, the Wolves were good on 27 of 61 attempts from the field and hit on three of nine attempts from three-point land. At the free-throw line, Watford City hit on 11 of 18 attempts.
Watford City 23 35 52 68
Parshall 16 29 43 56
Watford City Stats: Rebounds: Katie Mogen, 15; Mackenzie Sparby, 8; Ricki Lindley, 7; Lea Arndt, 5; Kara Langerud, 4; Alyssa Prichard, 2; April Spruell, 1. Assists: Lindley, 7; Mogen, 5; Spruell, 3; Arndt, 2; Prichard, 2. Steals: Mogen, 4; Lindley, 3; Spruell, 2; Prichard, 1. Langerud, 3; Lindley, 1; Mogen, 1.