Kari Gibb/MDN Minot North junior Aven Kelly (10) wins the tip over Minot High junior Leelee Bell (32) as the Majettes hosted the Lady Sentinels at Minot High on Saturday, February 15.

The Lady Sentinels won the opening tip but fought an uphill battle from that point on as the hosting Majettes took the 87-57 home court win on Saturday, February 15.

The opening half of play had a one word description.

Dominance.

The Majettes poured on the pressure from the onset, forcing turnovers that led to points. As the Lady Sentinels worked to establish an even foothold in the starting minutes of the game, Eve Knutson drained 3-pointers, made steals and kept the scoring pressure on. The Majettes posted 21 points from turnovers in the game with 20 steals on the stat line.

By the end of the first half of play, the Majettes held the 52-14 lead. Minot North actually led in shooting percentages but did not take as many shots- especially in the first half of play. Minot High was 18-of-44 shooting 2-pointers, 14-of-26 on 3-pointers and 9-of-12 from the freethrow line. Minot North was 14-of-20 on twos, 8-of-26 on threes and 5-of-9 from the charity stripe.

Rebounding belonged to Minot High as the Majettes had 19 offensive and 19 defensive boards compared to five offensive and 20 defensive rebounds for the Lady Sentinels. The rebounding led to 15 second chance points.

The second half had Minot North outscoring the hosts 43-35 but not enough to close the gap in the end.

Kinley Bartsch led the Majettes in scoring with 28 in the game. Leelee Bell added 24 points and 13 rebounds for Minot High. Knutson finished her effort with 17 points, five deflections and two steals in the game for the Majettes. Sydney Aberle had ten rebounds and four steals in the win as well.

Minot North was led by Ashlee Williamson with 14 points for the Sentinels. Elli Laskowski added 11 points and six rebounds while both Gracen Rorem and Jazlynn Sweet posted eight points in the effort.

With the win, Minot High improved to 14-1 in Western Dakota Association (WDA) play and 18-1 overall. The Majettes are two games ahead of Mandan in WDA standings and will be at the Lady Braves today to avenge their only loss on the season. The Majettes will travel to Bismarck to play Century on Friday, February 21, for their games this week.

Minot North dropped to 3-12 in WDA play and 5-14 overall. The Lady Sentinels host Jamestown today and will travel to Bismarck High on Friday.