May-Port-C-G Girls Basketball Wins First State Title

Mayville-Portland won their only state championship in girls basketball in 1975. Finley-Sharon, now a part of the coop, won their only state championship in 1985. May-Port-C-G didn’t want to wait for an anniversary year to claim its first state title, defeating Edgeley-Kulm-Montpelier in Saturday’s championship contest, 55-41.

The top-seeded Patriots marched into the state tournament in Jamestown claiming victory over every Division B opponent during the regular season, District Four Tournament, and Region Two Tournament by double digits. The senior-led squad continued to accomplish unprecedented feats at state, with all five starters scoring double figures in their 64-43 quarterfinal victory over Kenmare-Bowbells and shutting out Sargent County in the 2nd quarter of their 62-35 semifinal conquest.

The 6th seeded Rebels had a different path to the state title. EKM was rolling towards the state tournament, riding a nine-game winning streak into their Region One Championship against Sargent County. The Bulldogs claimed the win and sent the Rebels to the State Qualifying rounds. After falling behind Benson County in the second half of their state qualifier in Mayville, the Rebels rallied to defeat the Wildcats and earn a spot in the state tournament. From there, Rebelrella continued their improbable path, upsetting both the 3rd seeded Central McLean Cougars in the state quarterfinals, 43-42, and the 2nd seeded Bowman County Bulldogs in the semifinals, 53-36.

They would carry that momentum into the start of the championship game, as Region One Senior Athlete of the Year, Mataeya Mathern, scored the first two points of the game at the free throw line. The Patriots perked up at that point, going on a 13-0 run and not allowing an EKM field goal until the second half of the second quarter. Once they did, EKM went on an 8-0 run to close the gap. The rest of the first half was competitive, but low scoring, with the Patriots leading 15-11 at the break.

In the second half, MPCG scored ten of the first fifteen points, leading 25-16. EKM would go on another 8-0 run to cut the lead to one. That’s as close as the Rebels would get, as Danica Hanson would bury a triple to give the Patriots a four-point lead going into the fourth and final quarter. Hanson would bury another triple in the fourth, along with two from Tournament MVP Rylee Satrom. Those three threes, along with ten free throws, would help the Patriots pull ahead for good. The Patriots scored 28 points in the first three quarters and would nearly double that in fourth with 27. EKM made their best attempt to keep up in the second half, with three threes from Abby Mathern, eleven points from Mataeya Mathern, and seven from Jaelyn Bertsch. In the end, it wasn’t enough to stop the MPCG Machine.

Raegen Zerface led the Patriots with a solid overall performance of 18 points, half of which came in the fourth quarter. Satrom finished with 17 while Maysa Larson nearly reached a triple-double with nine points, nine rebounds, and five assists. Mataeya Mathern once again led the Rebels with a double-double 18 points along with ten rebounds, four assists, three blocks, and three steals, while hitting ten of eleven free throws.

In a rare occurrence, both teams shot a better percentage from behind the arc than they did inside it. MPCG shot 50% from three-point range and 42% from the field overall. The Rebels’ percentages were much closer, shooting 26.7% behind the arc and 26.1% from the field overall, making just eight two point baskets.

The best game of the tournament however might not have been the championship, but the third place Bulldog-Bulldog Battle as Sargent County clipped Bowman County 45-44. The Southeast Bulldogs and the Southwest Bulldogs exchanged the lead half a dozen times, with no team leading by more than five the entire game. In the end, it was another Karlie Kadoun jumper with little time left that claimed the victory for Sargent County. Kadoun led Sargent County with 22, while Sophia Headley led Bowman County in defeat with 21. Central McLean cruised in a 62-36 victory over Our Redeemer’s for fifth place while Kenmare/Bowbells claimed seventh with a 46-30 win over Maple River.

Mya Vibeto of Our Redeemer’s was named the Senior Athlete of the Year in B Girls Basketball, while MPCG’s Keenan Konschak was named the Coach of the Year. The following ladies were selected for the All Tournament Team:

Sophia Hedley, BOWMAN COUNTY

Adlyn Eng, CENTRAL MCLEAN

Mataeya Mathern, EDGELEY/KULM/MONTPELIER

Libby Mathern, EDGELEY/KULM/MONTPELIER
Abby Mathern, EDGELEY/KULM/MONTPELIER

Rylee Satrom, MAY-PORT-CG

Raina Satrom, MAY-PORT-CG

Danica Hanson, MAY-PORT-CG

Mashae Miller, KENMARE/BOWBELLS

Karleigh Kadoun, SARGENT COUNTY

Maya Vibeto, OUR REDEEMER’S

The Patriots end their state championship season with a record of 26-2. You can listen back to the championship broadcast by clicking on the link here: Division B Girls State Basketball Championship – May-Port CG vs Edgeley-Kulm-Montpelier *Audio Only* (youtube.com)