January 23, 2013

Wolves roll to 3 easy wins

By Neal A. Shipman
Farmer Editor

Watford City’s varsity girls basketball team got back on the winning track this past week as the Wolves picked up wins over Tioga. Lewis & Clark and Stanley to improve their season record to 8-2.
This week, Watford City will travel to Divide County on Thursday and then host the Beach Bucs on Monday.

Watford City 76, Tioga 44
Tioga was no match for Watford City last Tuesday as the Wolves held the Pirates to single-digit scoring in all four quarters of play.
Watford City jumped out to a 31-2 lead at the end of the first quarter and never looked back as the Wolves held the Pirates to just two points in the second quarter to lead 47-4 at halftime. Tioga continued to struggle against Watford City’s stingy defense in the second half as the Pirates only managed to score four points in the third quarter and six points in the final eight minutes of play.
While Tioga struggled offensively, Watford City used a very balanced scoring attack with four players scoring in double figures to notch the win.
Amanda Mogen led the team with 16 points on seven of 13 shooting from the field, while McKayla Haugeberg and Sadie Kieson each chipped in 12 points, and Katie Mogen ended the game with 10 points.
Haugeberg also led the Wolves with eight assists and nine steals, while Kieson grabbed a team high eight rebounds.
Rounding out the scoring for Watford City was Madison Brown with eight points, Ricki Lindley and Jessica Brown with five points each, Alyssa Prichard with four points, while  Kara Langerud and Elise Hadley ended the game with two points each.
Watford City    31    47    70    76
Tioga                    2     4      8     14


Watford City 75, Lewis & Clark 44
With Katie Mogen out of Watford City’s lineup due to a possible concussion, John Zenz, Watford City’s  head coach made a lineup change that produced big results against the Wildcats of Lewis & Clark-North Shore last Thursday.
With his leading scorer on the sidelines, Zenz went to Madison Brown as a starting replacement. And she delivered for the Wolves in a big way.
“Madison responded with the best game of her varsity career to this point,” stated Zenz. “She led the team with a game high 20 points on nine of 13 shooting from the field and grabbed nine rebounds.”
Watford City once again proved to be a district powerhouse as the Wolves jumped in front of the Wildcats, 29-7, after the first quarter and extended their lead to 30 points, 47-17, at halftime.
While the second half was a closer game scoring wise, Watford City’s strong first half effort put the game out of reach of the Wildcats.
“We didn’t finish real strong mentally in the game,” stated Zenz. “Sometimes it is hard to maintain focus when you have a big lead.”
Amanda Mogen and McKayla Haugeberg followed Brown in scoring with 14 points each. Mogen led the team with nine assists, while Haugeberg led Watford City with eight steals.
Also scoring for the Wolves was Jessica Brown with eight points, Sadie Kieson with six points, Ricki Lindley with five points, while Kara Langerud and Alyssa Prichard ended the game with four points each.
The Wolves suffered another injury during this game as Lindley left during the first quarter with a knee issue and did not return.  
Watford City     29    47    65    75
Lewis & Clark    7    17    30    44


Watford City 64, Stanley 36
With Ricki Lindley and Katie  Mogen out of Watford City’s lineup due to injuries, John Zenz, Watford City’s head coach was again forced to juggle his roster when the Wolves took on Stanley last Saturday. But as he had previously seen, his other players were ready to respond when called upon.
“Jessica Brown scored her career game high with 16 points on eight of 11 shooting,” stated Zenz. “She also led us with six rebounds and was the co-leader with five steals.”
While the Wolves only led the Blue Jays 14-11 at the end of the first quarter, Watford City turned up the heat in the remainder of the game outscoring Stanley 22-11 in the second quarter and then coasting to the win.
“Some girls had to play more varsity minutes than what they have been used to playing with our injuries,” stated Zenz. “But in the long run, this should help us when we get back to full health.”
Joining Brown in double-figure scoring for Watford City was McKayla Haugeberg and Amanda Mogen with 15 and 12 points, respectively. Haugeberg hit three of five from the three-point line, while also dishing off seven assists and coming up with five steals.
Rounding out the scoring for the Wolves was Jeanna Zenz with seven points, Sadie Kieson with six points,  while Madison Brown and Kara Langerud netted four points each.
Watford City    14    36    58    64
Stanley              11    22    29    36

WATFORD CITY WEATHER