MINOT, N.D.-The middle of the fourth quarter, in a state tournament, is no time to relax, as the Rugby Panthers found out Thursday at the North Dakota Class B girls basketball tournament.
The Panthers put together a 19-6 run to take a 42-38 lead. Then they took a deep breath ... and suffocated. A 13-0 run late in the fourth quarter led the Cowboys to a 51-45 win and a berth in Friday's semifinals against Thompson.
"It was a lack of focus," Rugby coach Jen Lunde said. "We clawed back from down 10, went up four, and our girls let up a little bit. That was the story. Then we couldn't get it back. We've been down before and battled back."
Madison Uhlenkamp started and ended strong for Rugby. She had six of the Panthers' first-quarter points and all seven of their 10 points in the fourth, finishing with 17 points. Anni Stier added 10 points and Tristin Lunde had seven points and eight rebounds.
Killdeer (21-4) got points from five different players in the second quarter while stretching the lead to 27-19 at half. The Cowboys extended the lead to 32-21 with 6:27 left in the third.
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Back-to-back baskets by Uhlenkamp lit a fire in Rugby. With 3:38 left, Karsyn Hager hit a 3-pointer to cap a 12-0 run and put Rugby up 33-32. The quarter ended with Bridgette Reiss draining a short jumper from the baseline with four seconds left to put Killdeer on top 36-35.
Uhlenkamp scored the Panthers' next seven points, interrupted only by Reiss' layup. With 5:19 left, the Panthers (22-3) had the lead and the momentum.
Then it was gone.
Shawnee Hansen scored six straight points. She finished with 12. Andersen added three of her 15-to go with 11 rebounds-and Trae Murray netted four of her 15. By the time the run ended, Killdeer was up 51-42 despite missing six free throws.
K 15 27 36 51
R 12 19 35 45
K (21-4): Murray 5 4-5 15, Anderson 6 2-8 15, Hansen 5 2-2 12, Reiss 2 0-0 4, Larsen 1 0-0 2, Four Bears 1 0-0 3. Totals: 20-44, 10-15.
R (22-3): Lunde 3 1-2 7, Hage 3 0-0 9, Ulenkamp 6 5-7 17, Stier 5 0-1 10, Gronvold 1 0-0 2. Totals: 15-41, 6-10.
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3-point goals: K 3-15 (Murray 1, Four Bears 1, Andersen 1), R 3-11 (Hage 3). Total fouls: K 10, R 14. Fouled out: Blessum. Rebounds: K 34 (Andersen 11), R 30 (Lunde 8). Assists: K 9 (Hansen 5), R 8 (Lunde 2, Stier 2, Gronvold 2). Turnovers: K 12, R 14.
