Purging salary was the story of the week for the Purple. The first casualties were Eric Kendricks, Adam Thielen & Cam Dantzler with several more to follow as free agency looms. They did get a bit of good news on the player-replacement front as they were awarded a sixth round pick due to the loss of Tyler Conklin. It's far from a sure-thing that whoever the selection ends up being will be even on Dantzler's sub-par level but one more roll of the dice can't hurt!
The week also included the loss of the only coach able to guide the franchise to the final game of the season as Bud Grant passed away. It's a loss for the entire tri-state region which will be felt in perpetuity.
Men's 🏀 continued their time in Sioux Falls with a dominant performance against SDSU before getting trucked by Oral Roberts in the championship. Tuesday also concluded with men's ⛳️ in fourth place of the Daytona Beach Invitational. The ladies also got out on the course and had the same level of success in Utah.
The weekend on the diamond proved to be a mixed-bag with a split in Minneapolis Friday by the softball team and a loss in Texas by ⚾️. The next day the white ball was flying all over the field while the highlighter put a low-light performance on Drake! They ended their time in Minneapolis with a pair of four-run victories Sunday while the guys dropped another before moving on.
Women's 🏀 found out they would be in the women's Invitational but their opponent, the location of the game and other details are yet to be announced.
Moorhead State opened with a pair of close losses in California by softball, which is also how the week ended - though not as closely contested.
Men's 🏀 had their season come to a conclusion despite a terrific second half to force OT. Not the desired conclusion for the great group but that is the nature of this time of year. Certainly leave some giant shoes for the youngsters to have to fill!
That could also be said of the 🏃 as they went at the national meet, with All-American performances to come out of day 1 and day 2!
Concordia had a tough week, with the one win coming Tuesday against Husson.
Softball had a four-game losing-streak reach seven before their bats came alive for a pair.
The same proved true for 🤼 as Ty Bisek scrapped his way to All-American!
In the wake of their season five members of men's 🏒 were recognized.
It was a mere two-game week and as the see-saw of the season goes, they were stuck each time. With 14 games to go, anyone who expects something different - such as sustained, genuine progress - is delusional. 68 games of proof is too much evidence to just ignore.
Two more wins, four more points and a spot in the postseason. Both Sioux City & Sioux Falls exceeded the goals-against average for Fargo's pair of stone-walls but the offense covered for what may have just been a couple of off-days by the last line. If they can return to form for the next three without losing any of the offensive punch then Waterloo will be just about eliminated from contention for the top spot! A key cog in keeping the scoreboard operator busy is Anthony Menghini, who will hopefully add to his record number of short-handed scores!
Reminder that scores and recruiting news are updated regularly so check back often!
Now for this week's highlights
While the week brought the number of tournaments remaining in North Dakota to just one, Minnesota got the jump on activities. Moorhead's boys opened with a 57 - 55 win in the section quarterfinals and will now host Brainerd Wednesday. Advancement proved to be the trend with D/G/F, Hawley, Ulen/Hitterdal, Fertile/Beltrami, Barnesville & Ada/Borup all taking care of business in their openers!
That didn't stop at the River either as North got back to the championship, winning it for the first time since 2006! Jeremiah Sem scored 20 of his 28 points in the first half to make himself the frontrunner for tournament MVP, which he was then named. Foul trouble limited Jeremiah in the second but Matthew Sem came through with a 23-point performance to secure the hardware! North were the lead dogs but were not the only ones to make it to Saturday as Davies finished third by putting a second L on Bismarck Century while Sheyenne & West Fargo got the three/four on the girls side, with the Mustangs finishing with the advantage in the last meeting between the loaded rosters. In their opening-round win over Bismarck Miriley Simon became WF's new all-time leading scorer!
Before the finale Miss Basketball was announced. Predictably, Bismarck Century's Logan Nissley was named but the local area had three finalists. In addition to Miriley Simon were Northern Cass' Halle Crockett & Central Cass' Decontee Smith.
That came along with the All-Tournament listings:
The week also included the finalization of the boys Class B field. In Wahpeton Region 1 came down to Central Cass & Kindred with the former maintaining their undefeated ways.
Oak Grove's Treyton Hatfield highlighted the Region 1 honors list.
CC will be joined in Bismarck by Thompson as they narrowly defeated Grafton in R2.
Moorhead's boys also made a valiant effort for their own tournament legacy, scoring three goals in the final eight minutes of their state quarterfinal - including the last with just 58 ticks remaining to force overtime, which became a double, against the eventual runner-up, Edina. That great push to remain and advance couldn't be duplicated as they lost to Maple Grove the next morning to end their season.
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