Bottineau vs Kenmare - Game Notes

Bottineau edged out Kenmare 50-45 in a great Class A vs Class B matchup. Bottineau controlled the game, but Kenmare was able to battle back and make it a two possession game with two minutes to go. Both teams are solid and will be tough outs in their respected Regions.   Bottineau    Kyra is a stud and will be moving up in the new 2025 rankings once they come out. She is able to do it all on the floor. She had many impressive drives where she finished tough shots while getting fouled. She was being defended by Kenmare's [player_tooltip player_id='415002' first='Taya' last='Aufforth'], who is also an exceptional player. Kyra kept multiple plays alive with offensive rebounds and had a handful of really great passes in transition. She was tough in the post, doing a nice job of sealing up the lane.     Hallie and Kyra allow Bottineau to run a tough double post/hi-low offense. Hallie was great at screening across and dumping down passes to Kyra from the free throw line. She is also able to seal up the lane herself for easy buckets. Hallie did an impressive up-and-under post move for a basket and did a nice job of making the right decision in a 2-on-1 transition opportunity.     Josie is a post who is able to come off of the bench and relieve Kyra and Hallie when they need a break. She is a good rebounder and does a nice job of keeping her feet defensively. She stands her ground with her hands up and makes it really difficult for opponents to score over her. She did a nice job of plugging up the middle throughout the game as the middle player in Bottineau's 1-3-1 defense.    Kenmare    Mashae and Taya were the reason Kenmare had a chance to come back and win against Bottineau. Mashae's quickness was on display all night long, getting by defenders and traps to create shots for herself and her teammates. She did a great job of decision making off of the bounce. She made timely passes to teammates for open threes and she knocked down several of her own that swayed the momentum Kenmare's way in the fourth quarter. I appreciate how hard Mashae competes.     Taya started the night off a little slower than normal, but was able to pick it up in the fourth quarter. She snagged several key offensive rebounds for easy put-backs. She had the tough task of trying to keep Bottineau's bigs off the glass, doing a respectable job. I like Taya's touch around the rim and her footwork in working for offensive positioning. Taya and Mashae are going to have Kenmare in great shape as the season progresses.    This was a fun game to watch to see how two top teams from A and B line up against each other. The beautiful thing about basketball is that anyone can win any given night. Bottineau and Kenmare are good teams with a lot of fun players to keep an eye on.

Bottineau edged out Kenmare 50-45 in a great Class A vs Class B matchup. Bottineau controlled the game, but Kenmare was able to battle back and make it a two possession game with two minutes to go. Both teams are solid and will be tough outs in their respected Regions.