MINOT – Experience, especially in the postseason, matters.
Central Cass is well aware of that and the Squirrels used their experience, pressure defense and talent to cruise past Bowman County 61-28 on Thursday in the quarterfinal round of the North Dakota state Class B girls basketball tournament at the Minot State Dome.
Central Cass, which is making its third state appearance in the past four years, improved to 21-3 and will take on either Langdon-Edmore-Munich or Rugby in the semifinal round of the tournament on Friday night.
There are seven seniors on the Squirrels roster and five of them start. All were in high gear in the first quarter as they jumped out to a 15-0 lead behind their pressure defense. The Squirrels were up 8-0 just a minute into the game, forcing Bowman County to call timeout.
It looked as if the Squirrels had been here before. And they have, as all seven Central Cass seniors came in with considerable state tournament experience.
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“Experience matters a ton,” said Central Cass coach Jay Bachman. “All seven of my seniors have been here before and four of them have played substantial minutes in two state tournaments. That experience kind of propels you into the weekend you want to have.”
Avah Cotton’s 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer left the Squirrels with a 37-14 advantage. Of their 37 points, 17 came off Bowman County turnovers. Also, the Squirrels connected on 54 percent of their first-half field-goal attempts. The Squirrels cruised from there.
Central Cass was led by Decontee Smith’s 22 points while Klaire Cotton added 18 as the two seniors combined to go 17-for-30 from the field.
“Knowing what we’re coming into is important because your emotions are more steady and you’re not overthinking everything,” said Smith, who will play basketball at Division II Northern State next season.
Defense set the tone for Central Cass. Overall, they forced 26 Bowman County turnovers.
“That’s our strong suit,” said Smith. “We had to come out hard on defense and that just carried on to our offense.”
Central Cass, which shot 75 percent in the fourth quarter, finished at 57 percent for the game, compared to Bowman County’s 26 percent. Central Cass also finished with 13 steals.
“We knew we had to come out strong defensively,” said Bachman. “I didn’t expect it to be 15-0. We knew our pressure defense, even our half-court defense, can give teams fits, especially if they’ve never seen it before.”
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Bowman County, making its first state appearance since 2008, was led by Jaci Fisher’s 12 points. The Bulldogs dropped to 22-4.
Central Cass 61, Bowman County 28
Halftime: Central Cass 37, Bowman County 14
Central Cass – Klaire Cotton 18, Victoria Richter 5, Delaney Cotton 6, Decontee Smith 22, Camry Nelson 2, Avah Cotton 3, Faith Bjerke 2, Addison Hushka 2
Bowman County – Reagan Honeyman 3, Landyn Gerbi 1, Jaci Fisher 12, Julie Sarsland 6, Ellie Powell 4, Kennedy Senn 2
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