RECAP: Horace Wins First Girls Basketball Wins First Title

THE HAWKS DEFEATED BISMARCK CENTURY ON SATURDAY, MARCH 15 TO WIN THEIR FIRST GBB TITLE IN JUST THEIR THIRD YEAR OF VARSITY ATHLETICS.

FARGO (KVRR) – In just their third year of varsity athletics, Horace Girls Basketball hoisted the championship trophy. The Hawks defeated Bismarck Legacy Saturday night 68-53 to cap off a remarkable season.

“Super emotional,” said freshman guard Lakyn Donnelly. “Super happy and excited. It didn’t feel real, honestly, but it was amazing to just do it with these people and these girls.”

Donnelly finished the Title game with 19 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists.

The Title game Saturday was not a walk in the park for the Hawks. The first half was a back and forth affair with Horace only taking a 4-point lead into the break.

In the second half, the stars shined bright, and role players stepped up in a big way. For the Hawks to win a title in just year three of varsity athletics, a lot of people get the credit.

“You can’t accomplish something like this anytime, let alone at such a young age, without support from so many people,” said head coach Brent Hintz. “While these kids are the ones who did it, they did it because they had so much support from so many people, their parents, their school and their community. This was definitely a true Horace win.”

The Hawks graduate three seniors from this season’s roster. Keelie Sunde was the star of the final dropping a game-high 20 points, Megan Hjelmstad played a solid game and the face of this young program, Jaiden Haile who is off to play at Division I Gonzaga next season, ends her career as a state champion.

“I’ve been getting a lot of questions: How does it feel to almost be done?” said Haile. “I have more basketball in my future, which I’m really blessed to have. But it was so amazing to end [my high school career] on a win. I’m going to remember this for the rest of my life. This is going to be definitely one of the highlights of my high school experience.”

With a bulk of the roster,13 to be exact, set to return next season: What’s stopping this team from becoming a dynasty?

“Nothing,” said Haile, who ended the Title game with 13 points and 22 rebounds. “I think that they are more than capable of going out the next year and the year after that and the year after that. If they keep working and keep playing Hawks basketball and staying true to themselves, I think they could. There’s a lot of championships in the Hawks’ future.”