BOWMAN, N.D. — The Bowman County Bulldogs started the
. They lost six important seniors, have had different players playing different positions and were without one of their key players to open the year.
But since District 7 play began, the Bulldogs have found their game and extended their conference record to 3-0 following their 60-48 win, on Tuesday, Jan. 13 at Bowman County High School, over the Hettinger-Scranton Nighthawks.
“We’re continuing to build that confidence in each other and getting them those minutes and knowing that they can get after it and make mistakes, but learn from those mistakes. And they’re learning how to play fast like a varsity team,” Bowman County head coach Jaci Mrnak said. “It’s just going to take steps, and if we just continue to grow every single game and every single day in practice, that’s what matters.”
It was a scrappy start to the game, with both teams struggling to manage the ball and sustain a sizable lead. However the Bulldogs settled down in the second quarter and started to find a rhythm on both sides of the ball, and went on a 7-1 scoring run to take a 28-19 lead.
Sophomore guard Jordyn Honeyman was the catalyst of Bowman County’s offensive surge in the second, knocking down her first two field goals of the night with one of them coming from behind the arch. Honeyman missed the first eight games of the year due to a back injury.
“It’s good to be back. It’s hard watching my team, so playing with them is fun and passing it to them and being an all-around player,” Honeyman said. “We came out with a good start [in the second], and we were shooting well and passing the ball well, and just driving and finding the open shooters.”
Honeyman finished the game with 16 points, best for second on the team, and added three triples.
“She’s a really good team player, like she loves to look for her teammates, she loves to look for those assists. But she’s good at reading the drives to take it on her own. She’s hit some really good three point shots that I’ve been waiting for her and wanting for her to hit in these three games that she’s been back,” Mrnak said. “So her building that confidence for us will really help, and her teammates are rallying around her now she’s back, and she’s filling that little gap that we needed with that leadership on the floor.”
The Nighthawks started to make a push in the third quarter and brought the deficit within five late in the third. But senior guard Livia Bowman stepped up her game and drained two straight shots from behind the arch to carry a 45-32 advantage heading into the final eight minutes.
“Other teams will key in on our other players which gives me an opportunity, and I’m more than happy to knock those down for my team,” Bowman said.
Bowman finished the game with 11 points coming off the bench, and began the fourth with another deep three extend the advantage.
1/16: The Bowman County Bulldogs down the Hettinger-Scranton Nighthawks 60-48 in a District 7 showdown on Tuesday, Jan. 13 at Bowman County High School.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
2/16: The Bowman County Bulldogs down the Hettinger-Scranton Nighthawks 60-48 in a District 7 showdown on Tuesday, Jan. 13 at Bowman County High School.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
3/16: The Bowman County Bulldogs down the Hettinger-Scranton Nighthawks 60-48 in a District 7 showdown on Tuesday, Jan. 13 at Bowman County High School.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
4/16: The Bowman County Bulldogs down the Hettinger-Scranton Nighthawks 60-48 in a District 7 showdown on Tuesday, Jan. 13 at Bowman County High School.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
5/16: The Bowman County Bulldogs down the Hettinger-Scranton Nighthawks 60-48 in a District 7 showdown on Tuesday, Jan. 13 at Bowman County High School.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
6/16: The Bowman County Bulldogs down the Hettinger-Scranton Nighthawks 60-48 in a District 7 showdown on Tuesday, Jan. 13 at Bowman County High School.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
7/16: The Bowman County Bulldogs down the Hettinger-Scranton Nighthawks 60-48 in a District 7 showdown on Tuesday, Jan. 13 at Bowman County High School.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
8/16: The Bowman County Bulldogs down the Hettinger-Scranton Nighthawks 60-48 in a District 7 showdown on Tuesday, Jan. 13 at Bowman County High School.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
9/16: The Bowman County Bulldogs down the Hettinger-Scranton Nighthawks 60-48 in a District 7 showdown on Tuesday, Jan. 13 at Bowman County High School.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
10/16: The Bowman County Bulldogs down the Hettinger-Scranton Nighthawks 60-48 in a District 7 showdown on Tuesday, Jan. 13 at Bowman County High School.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
11/16: The Bowman County Bulldogs down the Hettinger-Scranton Nighthawks 60-48 in a District 7 showdown on Tuesday, Jan. 13 at Bowman County High School.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
12/16: The Bowman County Bulldogs down the Hettinger-Scranton Nighthawks 60-48 in a District 7 showdown on Tuesday, Jan. 13 at Bowman County High School.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
13/16: The Bowman County Bulldogs down the Hettinger-Scranton Nighthawks 60-48 in a District 7 showdown on Tuesday, Jan. 13 at Bowman County High School.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
14/16: The Bowman County Bulldogs down the Hettinger-Scranton Nighthawks 60-48 in a District 7 showdown on Tuesday, Jan. 13 at Bowman County High School.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
15/16: The Bowman County Bulldogs down the Hettinger-Scranton Nighthawks 60-48 in a District 7 showdown on Tuesday, Jan. 13 at Bowman County High School.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
16/16: The Bowman County Bulldogs down the Hettinger-Scranton Nighthawks 60-48 in a District 7 showdown on Tuesday, Jan. 13 at Bowman County High School.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
“We talk about roles a lot on our team and it doesn’t matter how many minutes you’re on the floor, if you’re on the bench, wherever you’re at. Your role matters on the team, no matter how big and no matter how small, and really owning into what your role is. And I think in the last couple games, she’s really found her role coming off the bench as a six or seventh man,” Mrnak said. “She’s really taken that opportunity to fearlessly shoot the ball like we need her to do, and she knows that I have full confidence in her in doing that.”
Those points set the tone for the remainder of the game and while the Nighthawks outscored the Bulldogs 16-15 in the fourth, foul trouble thwarted their chances at a comeback.
But Hettinger-Scranton played well enough to come away with a win. Coming into Tuesday, the Nighthawks had won three out of their last four games.
“We had a nice start to the game, and then we started a little too handsy on defense and put them on the foul line a lot. That allowed them to get back into the game,” Hettinger-Scranton head coach Eric Kelner said. “This team’s gonna be all right. It’s a fun group to be around, and I think we’re going in the right direction.”
The Bulldogs will remain in District 7 play when they take on Grant County/Mott-Regent on the road on Thursday, Jan. 15, while the Nighthawks will have a tough task ahead of them taking on undefeated Flasher, on Saturday, Jan. 17 at home.
Jacob Cheris covers a variety of high school and college sports. A graduate of Penn State University’s class of 2023, with a degree in broadcast journalism, he covered Penn State Men’s Hockey for three years. Jacob also covers Big Ten Hockey for College Hockey News.