MINOT, ND – Girls high school basketball is on the air tonight as #1 Kenmare-Bowbells hosts Velva. The game was postponed from December and is the first of three nights of basketball on K-Heart this week. Pre-game begins a little after 7 pm on 106.9 K-Heart, khrt.com and through the Live365 app.

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MINOT STATE-WOMEN’S WRESTLING

 

HASTINGS, Neb. (MSU) – Nina Sandoval and Jazmin Gorder led the way for the Beavers on Sunday, each finishing fifth in their respective weight class at the Hastings Open women’s wrestling tournament. Competing at 123 pounds, Gorder won four matches to earn fifth place at the Hastings Open, bouncing back from a loss with back-to-back tech fall wins, 14-3 over Ana Rojas Zamora of Chadron State and a 10-0 win over Danica Linn of Iowa Western Community College. Earning a spot in the consolation semifinals, Gorder won by pin over Madelyn Plot of Iowa Western Community College, then she claimed fifth place with her second win of the day over Rojas, this time by pin. Sandoval turned in a stellar performance on a busy day at 155 pounds, as well, picking up five victories after an opening loss as she won by pin over Umpqua Community College’s Destinee Harris and over Kimberly Pollak of Hastings. Sandoval also picked up a win by forfeit, earning her a spot in the consolation semifinals where she scored a 10-0 tech fall win over Maria Elizondo of Iowa Central Community College. In the fifth-place match, Sandoval earned a win by injury default over Leila Martin of Chadron State. Also finishing fourth on the day in the 235-pound exhibition division was Minot State’s Angelina Garcia with one win in the tournament, a 12-7 decision over Rayanne Mutchler of Jamestown. And Annika Gotlieb also added a win by pin on the day at 136 pounds for Minot State. The Beavers are back in action next weekend once again competing in Nebraska, this time at two tournaments, the York Duals on Friday and the York Open on Saturday.

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FCS CHAMPIONSHIP

 

FRISCO, Texas (AP) — A different Dakota is celebrating a national championship nearly two decades after the border-state rivals moved up together to the Division I level. “I continue to think back in 2004 and wondering how it was going to work out. Well, this is pretty sweet how it’s worked out,” coach John Stiegelmeier said after South Dakota State won its first Football Championship Subdivision title Sunday. Mark Gronowski threw three touchdowns and ran 51 yards for another score as the Jackrabbits won 45-21 win over North Dakota State, which lost for the first time in its 10 FCS title game appearances since the move from NCAA Division II.

 

As a true freshman two seasons ago, Gronowski tore the ACL in his left knee on the opening series of the FCS title game. Now nearly 20 months after a loss in that unprecedented spring finale, and after the quarterback missed the entire 2021 season, the Jackrabbits (14-1) are national champs in Stiegelmeier’s 26th season at his alma mater. “It’s really a storybook ending for us,” Gronowski said. “We made a memory,” Stiegelmeier said. “I live through our players and I always will, always have. And so my joy is great today because their joy is great.”

 

Amar Johnson rushed for 126 yards and Isaiah Davis had 119 for his ninth 100-yard game this season, and both scored touchdowns for South Dakota State. Gronowski, who completed 14 of 21 passes for 223 yards had his scoring run on the third play of the second half to stretch the lead to 38-14. “We knew NDSU was going to fight until the end of the game and we knew that we had to come out in the second half and just start fast, score early,” Gronowski said.

 

Cam Miller threw for 260 yards with two TDs and two interceptions for the Bison (12-3), who went from Fargo to Frisco for the 10th time in 12 seasons. “So tough to lose,” Bison coach Matt Entz said. “Not something we like to do, not something we’re going to make a habit of at NDSU. But I’m more concerned about our players right now. … They’ll bounce back, I know that.”

 

The Jackrabbits have won the last four meetings between the Missouri Valley Football Conference rivals, all in less than two years. The previous three had been in regular-season games for the Dakota Marker trophy that wasn’t up for grabs in the MLS soccer stadium nearly 1,000 miles from the border of their states. Their 114th meeting since 1903 was only the fifth in the FCS playoffs, and first in the title game. South Dakota State’s only other FCS title game appearance was a last-minute loss to Sam Houston State in May 2021 after the lower-division season was pushed back to the spring because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Jackrabbits beat NDSU in that abbreviated regular season, then again later that fall before a 23-21 win last October.

 

Johnson’s 32-yard TD run broke a 7-all tie early in the second quarter. The Jackrabbits got the ball right back when Steven Arrell stripped the ball from running back Kobe Johnson at the Bison 34. Gronowski hit wide-open Jaxon Janke for an 18-yard TD four plays later — Janke also had a 30-yard TD catch in the fourth quarter. There was an exchange of 44-yard TD passes right before halftime. Before Miller hit Eli Green for an NDSU score, Gronowski on a third-and-1 play went forward like he was going to try to run for the first down when he instead stopped and threw to Mike Morgan all alone behind the entire defense. “It means the world to me,” Gronowski said of his comeback from the injury to being the game’s most outstanding player and winning a championship. “There’s no better feeling in the world.”

 

THE TAKEAWAY

 

North Dakota State: The Bison have a 44-4 record in the FCS playoffs, and missed a chance to match the record of 45 wins by Georgia Southern, which is now playing at the FBS level. They have only 14 losses overall since 2011, when they won the first of their record nine FCS titles, and six of those losses are to South Dakota State — no other team has multiple wins over NDSU in that span. South Dakota State: The Jackrabbits have won a school-record 14 games in a row since opening this season with a 7-3 loss at Big Ten team Iowa.

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VIKINGS-BEARS

 

CHICAGO (AP) — Kirk Cousins threw for 225 yards and a touchdown in the first half and watched the rest of the way as the NFC North champion Minnesota Vikings tuned up for the playoffs by beating the Chicago Bears 29-13. Cousins led three scoring drives as the Vikings grabbed a 16-6 halftime lead. They remained in control the rest of the way after getting blown out at Green Bay the previous week. The Bears, who held out star Justin Fields, set a franchise record with their 14th loss and extended one by dropping their 10th game in a row. With Houston winning 32-31 at Indianapolis, Chicago gets the No. 1 pick in the draft for the first time since 1947.

 

Cousins led three scoring drives as the Vikings (13-4), who’ll host the New York Giants next Sunday, grabbed a 16-6 halftime lead. They remained in control the rest of the way after getting blown out at Green Bay the previous week. It was the first time since Week 1 that Minnesota won by more than one score, and the team finished the year outscored by opponents 427-424. Nick Mullens came on in the third quarter and was 11 of 13 for 116 yards and an interception. K.J. Osborn had 117 yards on five catches. Justin Jefferson added four receptions for 38 yards, boosting his team-record totals to 128 and 1,809 on the season. Alexander Mattison ran for a career-high two touchdowns, scoring from the 1 in both the second and third quarters.

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NFL PLAYOFFS

 

UNDATED (AP) – The NFL’s Week 18 saved its best drama for the final game of the weekend. The Detroit Lions — eliminated from playoff contention earlier Sunday when the Seahawks beat the Rams — pushed past their disappointment and played the role of a spoiler, rallying to beat Green Bay 20-16 on Sunday night. The win denied quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the Packers a spot in the postseason. Instead of Green Bay, it’s the Seahawks who will be the No. 7 seed in the NFC. They’ll travel to face division rival San Francisco in next weekend’s wild-card round.

 

The rest of next weekend’s schedule is also set: In the AFC, it’ll be the Miami Dolphins at the Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Ravens at the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Chargers at Jacksonville Jaguars. In the NFC, the Minnesota Vikings will host the New York Giants and the Tom Brady-led Tampa Bay Bucs host the Dallas Cowboys. The Lions’ upset win capped a weekend that saw the Dolphins make it back to the playoffs for the first time since 2016. The surprising Jaguars also return to the postseason for just the second time since 2007. Seven of the 14 teams that qualified for the playoffs didn’t make the field last season, including the Seahawks, Ravens, Jaguars, Chargers, Dolphins, Vikings and Giants. Among those headed home: The New England Patriots and six-time Super Bowl-winning coach Bill Belichick, eliminated after a loss to the Bills.

 

The Lions didn’t have much to play for against the Packers other than pride, but that was enough. They were knocked out of playoff contention when Seattle’s Jason Myers kicked a 32-yard field goal to beat the Los Angeles Rams 19-16 in overtime. The No. 1 overall seed in the AFC was claimed by Kansas City with its 31-13 win over Las Vegas on Saturday. The NFC’s top spot was taken by Philadelphia, which beat the New York Giants 22-16 on Sunday. The AFC bracket could still be affected by the cancellation of the Bills-Bengals game after Hamlin’s injury. The Bengals avoided a coin flip for home field after beating the Ravens 27-16, but there still could be a neutral field AFC championship game if the Bills line up against the Chiefs.

 

Here’s a look at some other developments as the postseason approaches:

 

SATURDAY
Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers, 4:30 p.m. ET, FOX
Los Angeles Chargers at Jacksonville Jaguars, 8:15 p.m. ET, NBC

 

SUNDAY
Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills, 1 p.m. ET, CBS
New York Giants at Minnesota Vikings, 4:30 p.m. ET, FOX
Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals, 8:15 p.m. ET, NBC

 

MONDAY
Dallas Cowboys at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN/ABC

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WOLVES-ROCKETS

 

HOUSTON (AP) — D’Angelo Russell scored 22 points and Anthony Edwards added 21 as the Minnesota Timberwolves overcame a big early deficit to beat the Houston Rockets 104-96 for their fourth straight win. Minnesota scored the first 11 points of the fourth quarter to take an 88-81 lead. Rudy Gobert had four points in that span and Taurean Prince added a 3-pointer. Houston missed six shots and had a turnover to help the Timberwolves to go on top. The Rockets lost their seventh in a row. The Rockets led by as many as 20 points early, but the Timberwolves cut the lead to 62-58 by halftime. Minnesota’s winning streak comes after the team dropped its previous six games.

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WILD-BLUES

 

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Brandon Saad extended his goal streak to a career-best four straight games to lead the St. Louis Blues past the Minnesota Wild 3-0. Brayden Schenn scored twice and Thomas Greiss made 36 saves for his first shutout of the season for the Blues. Saad set up Schenn’s insurance goal for the Blues in the third period just after a power play expired for the Wild. Schenn added an empty netter in the closing seconds. Wild goalie Filip Gustavsson, who had 21 saves, did more than enough to keep his team competitive through two sluggish periods. The Wild lost for the first time in eight games this season against an opponent on the second half of a back-to-back set of games.