Bowman County girls basketball: Region 7 champions

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) - To the victor goes the spoils. If you win a region basketball title in Class B, the spoils come in the form of a trip to the state tournament. In Region 7, Bowman County is the victor.

The Bulldogs beat Grant County-Mott-Regent in the title game to earn a place in the Girls B in Minot. Bowman County put the game away right after half-time.

“What a 3rd quarter, our girls came out firing,” said Jaci Mrnak, Bowman County head coach. “In the locker room, we told them, ‘How bad do you want it? Right! You have to get after it in the 3rd quarter. You have to have a good 3rd quarter. You have to put the peddle down to the floorboards.’ And they did do that! We shot over 70% in that 3rd quarter and they played awesome defense. They got steals and they executed in the half-court so that was huge.”

“To be honest, we were a little tired, but coach came in and gave us a great speech about how we needed to start playing our game and doing everything that we needed to do and it just paid off,” said Ellie Powell, Bowman County senior. ”We were playing together. We were pushing the ball, and we couldn’t honestly ask for a better 3rd quarter.”

Powell is the only senior on the Bulldogs roster. Despite the Bulldogs being on the younger side, the coach understands her athletes very well.

“I coached each one of them in junior high at least one year, so I’ve seen them grow from little 7th & 8th graders to juniors and seniors in high school,” said Mrnak. “It means a lot to me. They play their hearts out for me every single game and they put everything on the line, and I’m never going to forget this year. I’m just extremely proud of them. I can get emotional just talking about it.”

“Having one senior and only three juniors, which two are playing, we just know that we have to step up, especially if Ellie gets into foul trouble like she did in the championship game then we know that it’s our time to shine and we have to take control of the game,” said Reagen Honeyman, Bowman County sophomore.

Bowman County plays the first game at 12 p.m. MST on Thursday against Central Cass.

Copyright 2023 KFYR. All rights reserved.