Lady Bearcats had "double overtime" game
    The girl’s Bearcat basketball team traveled to Mott Thursday, January 4 to meet the Mott-Regent Wildfire.
    The ‘Cats knew it would be a tough game as the Wildfire had only lost two seniors from last year and the team had made it into the semi-finals in Regional play.
    The home team wasn’t intimated and at the close of the first quarter the score was 10-9 with the Wildfire having a one- point lead.
    The Wildfire got hot during the second quarter and hit four three-pointers and when the half-time buzzer blasted away, the Cats had fallen back 27-20.
    In the third Hebron – Glen Ullin put more pressure on their outside shooters and the plan turned out to be successful.
    The Cats outscored the Wildfire 16 – 9 and the game was tied at 36 – 36 going into the fourth.
    Both squads came out playing good defense, each team scoring nine, turning the night into an ‘overtime’ night with a score of 45 – 45.
    In overtime the Cats had a 49 – 45 lead but let the Wildfire tie the score late in the overtime, making the game a "two time" overtime contest.
    This time around the Bearcats would not be denied and scored four, allowing Mott-Regent only two. The Bearcats walked away with a well deserved 53 – 51 victory.
    Coach Paul Sayler reports that this was a big win for the Bearcats and a definite confidence builder, that not too many teams go into Mott and come away with a victory.
    He stated that as the season progresses, the Bearcats continue to struggle at times but are beginning to believe in themselves and their ability – and it’s beginning to show.
    The Cats out rebounded the Wildfire with a convincing 45 – 28 advantage. Both teams struggled at the free throw line as the Wildfire was only 4/9 and the Bearcats 7/19.
    The Wildfire had 18 turnovers to the Cats 23.
    Three players earned double figures at the net. Kaylee Bittner scored 17, Nataya Fode scored 12 and Shalayna Barth scored 10.
    Nikki Fideldy added six, Kayla Rebel and Sarah Schaaf each scored two.
    Rebel and Fode dominated the boards, each with 11 rebounds. Fideldy had eight, Bittner, seven Schaaf, four; Barth, three and Christa Hellman, one.
    Rebel lead in assists with six followed by Bittner with three, Fode, two and Fideldy, Barth and Haverluk, each with one.
    That Monday, January 8 the team played in the Hebron gymnasium, meeting up with the Standing Rock
Warriors.
    That team had a seven – two record and again, it was a challenge for the Cats.
    Fideldy, who starts the game out as center, was attending a FFA event in Bismarck, so the Cats were shorthanded.
    The game started out with running from the Warriors - the Cats kept right up with them.
    After trailing 9 –2, the Cats started rolling and had a 23-22 lead late in the quarter. In the last few seconds there was a turnover and the Warriors hit a three-pointer at buzzer time which gave them a 25-23 lead.
    Both teams struggled in the second and the score was tied 27-27 with 3:57 left. The Warriors outscored the home team from that point on, 14-3, grabbing a 41-30 lead at halftime.
    Halftime came at just the right time for the Cats as they had six players with at least two fouls. The up-tempo game was "starting to give the Cats fits", according to Sayler, the team was getting tired and the fouls were adding up. During halftime, the team talked about hitting the boards with more authority and running a controlled offense.
    That strategy paid off and the Cats scored the first 12 points in the third – plus the defense did a great job allowing the Warriors few chances to score.
    After trailing 41-30 at half time, the Cats had a 42-41 lead.
    Fode worked hard on offence to get open inside, her teammates played unselfishly and fed her the ball. She scored 15 points in the quarter.
    Standing Rock got the game running again, outscoring the Cats 16 to eight during the rest of the quarter. The Cats trailed 57- 49 at the end of the third.
    The Cats closed the gap to five in the fourth but couldn’t get closer, losing 74-66.
    Sayler reports that he was proud of the girls, how hard they are working and the way they are starting to understand the game and why they are asked to play different roles in each game.
    Sayler reports that team members ask questions, are eager to learn and become better players.
    He added that he talks a lot about "attitude" and how attitude and love of the game can keep a team going in the right direction.
    The Cats were once again out rebounded by their opponents with 30 versus 28 from the Warriors. Because of the up-tempo style of the game, the Warriors got the Cats to do most of the game, causing lots of turnovers. The Cats had 33 while the Warriors had 25.
    Fode had an excellent game making 12 of 19 shots from the field, six of nine free throws for 30 points, grabbed a team high eight rebounds, had two assists and two steals.
    Bittner was the other player in double figures with ten and added five rebounds, three assists and two steals.
    Barth added seven, had two assists, steals and rebounds.
    Rebel led in assists handing out eight. She scored six, had six rebounds and three steals.
    Hellman had five points, three rebounds and a steal, Schaaf scored four, had three rebounds and a steal and Jean Fode scored four points and had an assist.

Bearcat Boys met Belfield on Hebron floor
   Friday, January 5 the Bearcat boys’ basketball team hosted the Belfield Bantams on the floor in the Hebron High School gymnasium.
    This was the ‘Cats first game following a lengthy Christmas break.
    The game proved to be a very even contest from the opening tip until the final buzzer.
    The Bearcats used a stingy half court match up zone defense to take a slim three-point lead into the break.
    In the third quarter the ‘Cats opened up the lead to seven by outscoring the Bantams 14-10 with most of the Bearcat points coming against a half court trap.
    In the final stanza the Bearcats showed their inexperience. The same half court trap that hadn’t caused a big disruption was now a huge obstacle for the home team.
    There were numerous poor passes, inability to make the easy pass and dribbling errors causing the ‘Cats to lose the lead.
    Down the stretch the team missed numerous free-throws and couldn’t capitalize on open looks at the basket.
    The final score saw the Bantams defeat the Bearcats 41-40.
    Jarrod Auer scored 16 followed by Cody Rebel with 11 and three steals and Benji Skjoldal with six plus six rebounds and nine assists.
    Brandon Kobilansky added three points to the score and had nine rebounds and John Morman scored two points along with Nathan Wanner.