Young Bulldogs take the court

Carter County Bulldogs have been busy recently with junior high basketball starting last Monday. Games have already taken place in Ekalaka and Terry.

On October 12, the boys and girls played Wibaux at home. In the first game of the evening, the junior high girls B team lost a battle. The first quarter ended 4-5, with Wibaux leading. In the second quarter, the girls managed to pull ahead and end the first half with a 10-9 lead. After halftime, the young lady Longhorns came back with a vengeance. They walked away with the win, 10-20. Both Kendall Kittelmann and Brynn Loehding led the team in scoring with four points each.

The JH girls A team started off strong in the first quarter, taking an early 12-2 lead. They continued their momentum into the second quarter, maintaining the lead with a score of 22-10 at halftime.

After halftime, the Bulldogs kept up their pressure and walked away with the first win of the evening, 36-18. Kenzie Tooke led the team in scoring, managing to net 25 of the team's 36 points.

In junior high boys action, Team B struggled. Though the boys tried, they couldn't quite get the footing they needed and had trouble shooting. At halftime, Ekalaka hadn't scored yet, and they were down by 19. Although the boys were able to score in the third quarter, it just wasn't enough. The Longhorns eventually won, 5-33. Ethan Frye and Preston Jensen scored the only points for Ekalaka. Frye hit a three-pointer and Jensen scored two.

The junior high boys A team played the final game of the evening. Ekalaka took an early lead in the first quarter, 13-2. Blue kept up the defensive pressure and fast paced offense in the second and grew their lead to 26-9 at halftime. After halftime, Wibaux was able to get more going on offense, but Ekalaka kept their foot on the accelerator and walked away victorious. The final score was, 50-29. Jaden Pardee finished the game with almost half of the team's points.

On Saturday October 14, Ekalaka traveled to Terry for three games. The girls B team played first, and they came out fast, leading 11-2 at halftime. Although the Terriers managed to score a few points in the second half, it wasn't enough as the game ended with a score of 25-8 in favor of Ekalaka. Brynn Loehding scored a team-high eight points, Kendra Tooke added six.

In girls A team action, Ekalaka took a large 26-2 lead into the half. The second half was no different as the Terriers struggled to get anything going on offense. The game ended in a large win for Ekalaka, 41-6. Eight Ekalaka players made their way into the scoring column including: Kenzie Tooke, Kendall Kittelmann, Heidi LaBree, Amaya Rios, Tyra O'Connor, Nicole O'Connell, Jennie Schmid, and Shaun-tey Kerr.

The junior high boys, who had felt success with a large win against Wibaux the night before, struggled agasint Terry. Blue was held scoreless in the first quarter and managed only three in the second. At halftime Ekalaka was down, 3-24. In the third quarter Tucker Tooke put up four points, though he missed a pair of free throws. In the fourth, Sean Wolenetz hit a three-pointer, providing Ekalaka with their last score. Terry won the contest, 41-10.

Since Terry was short-handed with only seven total junior high boys on the roster, the boys only played one game. Ekalaka coaches Clayton Stieg and Zach Elmore did a great job of getting all fourteen of their kids in the game. Yes, that's correct, 14 Ekalaka players were on the court at some point throughout the game.

This Friday Ekalaka will travel to Jordan for junior high basketball games, beginning at 2:30. On Saturday, beginning at 1:00, they will play games at home versus Broadus.