Bennett leads Bulldogs over Ogichida

Carlton Bulldog junior forward Alaina Bennett scored 26 points Tuesday to lead all scorers and the Bulldogs to a 76-34 victory over Fond du Lac Ojibwe at the Carlton High School.

In a fast-paced first half both teams battled, with Carlton holding a 16-point lead at the break at 38-22. Tannia Misquadace and Solai Mohr tried to keep the Ogichida close, but the Bulldogs had too many weapons to choose from Tuesday night.

After building a first-half lead, the Bulldogs started the second half just as strong as they did in the first half. They would match their 38-point total in the second half.

"The second half we played much harder and worked as a team," said Carlton head coach Lucas Beireis. "We had a lot more ball movement and we helped each other get out of sticky situations. We also did better at limiting them on their second-chance opportunities."

Fond du Lac struggled in the second half and could not find an answer to get things going against the faster and taller Bulldogs. Misquadace paced the Ogichida with 14 points in the loss while Mohr finished with 13. Two other Ogichida players would score in the loss, Kayla Reynolds with 4 points and Aliah Reynolds ending with 3 on the night.

Elizabeth Hey and Bennett each knocked down two three-pointers in the Bulldog win. Abby Mickle finished with 10 points for Carlton as well.

"The girls just worked hard and did their jobs," Beireis said. "It was fun to get all the seniors time for Senior Night and getting them all the opportunity to get some points, and we went on a 30-4 run to end the game which was great for the confidence of the team!"

The win improved the Bulldogs to an overall record of 13-9, while Fond du Lac falls to 2-14 on the season. The Ogichida will close out their regular season with a contest at Littlefork on Thursday.

Carlton winds up a very busy week, facing Chisholm, McGregor, and Floodwood over a three-day stretch scheduled to begin Thursday, Feb. 21 in Chisholm, with the girls' regular season coming to an end Saturday. The Bulldogs are fighting for an opening-round home game in the playoffs next week, so each and every game is very important at this point of the season.

Fond du Lac, which has struggled this season, will travel to a play-in game next Monday on the road, against an opponent yet to be determined.

Section 7A seedings will be finalized this weekend.

Girls sectional tournament action begins Monday, Feb. 25 in section 7A; section 7AAA will start Tuesday night; and section 7AA action will be the last of the sections to get going, on Thursday, Feb. 28