Kari gibb/MDN Minot High junior Leelee Bell (30) lines up for a free throw in previous action. Bell is ten points away from her 2,000 career total for the Majettes and has a good shot at hitting that mark in today’s game against Bismarck St. Mary’s at the Magic City Campus at 6 p.m.

Sports- basketball in particular- are all about statistics. Teams keep track of everything from minutes played, shots taken, shots made, free throws, 2-pointers, 3-pointers, offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds, blocks, steals, turnovers, points from turnovers, points in transition – the list is long.

Another two statistics that matter are wins and points.

Minot High has amassed an 8-1 record in Western Dakota Association (WDA) play and an 11-1 record overall this year. Another number that is affected by that is their standing in the WDA. Currently the Majettes are second in the WDA standings with Mandan just ahead with an 8-1 WDA record and also 11-1 overall.

Minot High has scored 545 points this season in WDA play and allowed 378 points by opponents. The team went into last week on a ten game win streak before a close loss to those Lady Braves from Mandan.

The Majettes rebounded from the two point loss to Mandan with a 20-point win at Bismarck Legacy on Friday night. That win happened to be another stellar statistic for the Majettes head coach Jason Schwarz. The 11th win of the season happened to be his 100th as a coach.

“I’ve been so fortunate to be the head coach at Minot High for the past six years,” said Schwarz. “We’ve had so many outstanding student-athletes as part of the Majette basketball program. All the wins we’ve experienced are attributed to their hard work and dedication to working towards a common goal.”

As fantastic as the 100th win is for Schwarz, each win gets his team closer to a state title and that win would be even more fun.

Another statistic that the Majettes and coach Schwarz are excited about has the potential to become a milestone in today’s contest at home against St. Mary’s. Minot High junior, Leelee Bell, is ten points from hitting the 2,000 mark in career points.

“Leelee has been a great player for Minot High over the past four years,” said Schwarz. “Scoring 2,000 is a tremendous accomplishment that very few have reached in the state. The All-Time scoring mark for the state AA (formerly A) is 2,371 points. Leelee could get to that mark at the tail end of this season.”

Bell already owns the top scoring mark for Minot High.

As an eighth grader, Bell played in 23 games, averaged 15.8 points per game and recorded 364 points in her season. In 24 games as a freshman, Bell averaged 19.5 points per game and tallied 469 points for the WDA season.

Last season Bell averaged 26.1 points per game and had 706 total points for the WDA season. In 12 games played this season, Bell has 318 points in WDA play and her shooting average is up to 26.5 points per game.

“Leelee has another season after this year,” said Schwarz. “Next season she will be chasing the 3,000 mark.”

The same as coach Schwarz, the most important points for Bell would be the ones scored to win the state title.

With eight more games after today, the Majettes have a long way to go yet, but the numbers support a high percentage chance for the Minot High girls to make the playoffs and make a push for the state championship this year.