Game One: Central Cass 59, Oak Grove 47

It was a tightly contested opening quarter between the Central Cass Squirrels and the Oak Grove Grovers, with Central Cass holding a slim 16-16 tie after one.

Oak Grove seized momentum early in the second quarter with a 5-0 run to take the lead, but from that point on the game belonged to the Squirrels. Freshmen Kenley Haug and Keelyn Flanagan sparked a decisive response, as Central Cass closed the first half on a 17-5 run to take a 33-25 advantage into the break.

The third quarter proved largely even, as Oak Grove shook off a slow start to outscore Central Cass by one in the frame, keeping the Grovers within striking distance entering the fourth.

Central Cass put the game away in the final quarter behind the continued scoring of Haug and Flanagan, who combined for 38 points on the night. Jaci Verkuehlen added 10 points of her own to help seal the victory for the Squirrels.

With the win, Central Cass advances to the semifinals, where it will face the Valley City Hi-Liners at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

 

Game Two: Kindred 74, Lisbon 33

The Kindred Vikings used a dominant first half to cruise to a first-round win over the Lisbon Broncos. As expected, the bulk of the scoring came from Liza Trenbeath and Sierra Nipstad, who each poured in 29 points to lead all scorers. No other Viking finished with more than six points.

The opening quarter was all Kindred, as the Vikings raced out to a commanding 30-10 lead. The second and third quarters were more competitive, with Kindred outscoring Lisbon 31-23 during that stretch to maintain control.

Brynley Differding and Carly Mairs did their best to keep the Broncos within reach, finishing with 14 and 11 points, respectively. However, the Trenbeath–Nipstad duo proved far too much to handle, as Kindred shut out Lisbon 13-0 in the fourth quarter to put the game away.

With the win, the Vikings advance to the second semifinal on Tuesday.

 

Game Three: Wahpeton 65, Northern Cass 48

The Wahpeton Huskies turned a slow start into a dominant second-half performance, defeating the Northern Cass Jaguars 65-48 in the first round of the Region One tournament.

The first half belonged to Northern Cass, as the Jaguars appeared poised to pull off another opening-round upset. Behind a tenacious effort from Tess Jalbert and Olivia Olson, Northern Cass built a 37-24 lead at halftime.

The momentum shifted dramatically in the third quarter, however, as Claire Woods took control for Wahpeton. Woods poured in 17 points in the frame, igniting a Huskies surge. Meanwhile, Northern Cass’ offense stalled, with Jalbert accounting for the Jaguars’ only field goal of the quarter. Wahpeton outscored Northern Cass 23-4 in the third to flip a 13-point halftime deficit into a 47-41 lead entering the fourth.

The Huskies continued to pull away in the final quarter, as contributions from Piper Nelson, Cambri Mauch and Woods helped seal the comeback victory.

With the win, Wahpeton advances to face the Kindred Vikings in the second semifinal Tuesday.