North Dakota
Jimmies' Busek, Hagel, Martinson representing North Dakota
JAMESTOWN — When some high school seniors are making their decisions on where to go to college, they decide to go far from home while others decide to stay close to home. This year’s University of Jamestown women’s basketball team has three players who decided to take the latter option four years ago.
This year’s Jimmies squad has four seniors with three of them being from North Dakota. Jailyn Martinson is from Devils Lake, Kate Busek is from Fargo, and Hannah Hagel is from Carrington.
“It’s awesome. I know that our fans enjoy having players that they’ve seen in high school and followed through North Dakota high school basketball and seeing them during their high school playoffs and knowing who they are and then coming to our team and joining us and being integral parts for four years,” Jimmies head coach Thad Sankey said. “… It helps the connection to our local communities. It helps our connection as we recruit North Dakota high school players that those high school girls can see the generation of North Dakota high school players in front of them be successful as college players for us. So that’s an exciting thing … a lot of satisfaction involved from their side and also their families get to stay connected.”
John M. Steiner / The Jamestown Sun
The Jimmies have two other players from North Dakota on the team — freshman Jayden Wiest from Mandan and sophomore Halle Crockett from Reile’s Acres.
“I think it’s super cool,” Busek said. “… It’s cool to see all the people that I’ve known my whole life or from different communities like Hagel’s and Jailyn’s just being able to pull together and see us all play together. So I think it’s really cool that the three of us are here and we can represent our cities all together.”
As of Nov. 18, the Jimmies were 3-1. In the first four games of the season, the Jimmies outscored their opponents 295-253.
“I think coming in with a new group and losing two key players last year was hard but I think we really have big key players now that make an impact,” Martinson said.
As one of four seniors, Hagel said she does not feel as much pressure to lead as she would if it was just her.
“I don’t feel pressure at all. Having a team like this where everyone contributes and works hard every day and puts in the effort and everyone can rely on each other is very helpful,” Martinson said.
As of Nov. 18, Hagel led the group of three North Dakotans with 6.0 points per game followed by Busek’s 5.3 and Martinson’s 2.0. Busek led the team with 6.0 rebounds per game just ahead of Hagel’s 5.5. Busek also led the team with 3.0 assists per game.
“They’ve made quite an impact and obviously we think of on-the-court impact and contributing and helping us win games,” Sankey said. “But I think the impact culturally that our seniors have made is pretty incredible and how our team competes and how we build relationships and the value that we have on each other is a great thing. Those women definitely play a big part in that.”
Sankey said the trio’s roles will need to be figured out before they can increase their scoring averages.
“Some of it is just getting a little bit more comfortable in their offensive roles and understanding where they can fill needs,” Sankey said. “Our offense is a little bit different this year and we made some adjustments and added a little bit more movement, cutting, screening and off-the-ball movement. So every time that happens it takes players just a little bit of time to adjust and understand where are their options to attack and be aggressive and also every team’s scoring balance is unique. So what’s the opportunity that our team needs them to fill.”
Despite leading in multiple statistical categories, Busek said her biggest contributions to the team don’t show up in a box score.
“I think I provide a lot of leadership to the team just being out there and being vocal and helping new players as they step into new roles,” Busek said. “I think that’s something that we always need and I’m happy to do it.”
All three players said they want to get back to the NAIA Tournament after making it to the Sweet 16 last year.
Hello,
My name is Max O’Neill. I am a Sports Reporter at The Jamestown Sun. I am a native New Yorker, who graduated from Ithaca College in 2020 with a degree in Television-Radio.
Submitted Photo
U.S. soldiers with the Nebraska and North Dakota National Guards, assigned to Joint Task Force-District of Columbia in support of the DC Safe and Beautiful mission, pose for a group photo at a hotel in Alexandria, Virginia, April 28. N.D. National Guard 2nd Lt. Caleb Hill, front row, far left, served as the officer in charge of the mission when soldiers assigned to JTF-DC responded to the shooting incident at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner April 25. About 2,500 National Guard members are supporting the DC Safe and Beautiful mission, providing critical assistance to the Metropolitan Police Department to help ensure the safety of residents, commuters and visitors throughout the District. U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Thomas Norris.
WASHINGTON – U.S. soldiers with the North Dakota, Arkansas and Nebraska Army National Guard, assigned to Joint Task Force-District of Columbia in support of the DC Safe and Beautiful mission, responded to a shooting incident at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner (WHCAD) at the Washington Hilton in Northwest Washington April 25.
The Guardsmen were at the WHCAD at the request of the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) as an additional patrol unit created specifically for the event, which celebrates the contribution of news organizations and independent journalists alike who provide notable coverage relating to the presidential administration.
“Our mission was to assist the U.S. Secret Service with crowd control,” said Capt. Kevin Peatrowsky, an operations officer with the Nebraska National Guard (NENG) assigned to JTF-DC.
As the Guardsmen were monitoring their area of operations, they saw USSS agents sprint toward the hotel entrance.
“They were running full speed with their weapons drawn,” said Sgt. 1st. Class Allen Haney, a team member with the Arkansas National Guard. “We immediately followed suit.”
Staff Sgt. Kirsten Confer, a NENG combat medic and battle captain, recalled her response to the incident: “We fell back on our basic training. You run toward danger and move in a way that makes sense for the situation.”
According to Confer, the Guardsmen entered the hotel and immediately began securing the scene and ensured that the guests evacuated safely. At the direction of a federal agent, Confer began a rapid trauma assessment on the suspect which resulted in finding knives and ammunition on the shooter. Simultaneously, the Arkansas soldiers moved outside to provide crowd control at a pedestrian barricade outside the hotel.
“From there, we assisted wherever we could,” said 2nd Lt. Caleb Hill, a National Guardsman from North Dakota who served as the officer in charge for the mission. “We were initially helping with crowd control. After that, we realized that the USSS had begun rerouting everyone in the hotel, so we moved to the doors. We were controlling entry into the venue, so we had moved a couple more people outside, so we had five inside, eight outside.” Both Arkansas and Nebraska worked well alongside one another and, alongside the federal agencies. Hill also noted that relying on his soldiers allowed him to move to different teams, which helped allow him to plan and coordinate with different agencies.
According to 1st Lt. Jonathan Goins, a platoon leader with the Arkansas National Guard, Arkansas soldiers also helped establish a security perimeter for the staging of the presidential motorcade. Later, the team assisted federal agencies and MPD with crowd control, which helped clear the way for the president and administration officials, he said.
“Guardsmen on this mission represent the very best of the nation,” said U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Leland Blanchard II, the interim commanding general of the District of Columbia National Guard. “The world got a brief glimpse, but I see them each day serving and doing amazing things across the District.”
FARGO, N.D. (KELO) — The Sioux Falls Stampede staved off elimination with a 2-1 overtime win over the Fargo Force in game four of the USHL Western Conference Finals Saturday night.
Thomas Zocco scored the game-winner 12 minutes into the extra period. Arseni Marchenko put Fargo on the board first in the first period. Noah Mannausau tied the game for the Herd in the second period.
Sioux Falls outshot Fargo 53-49, including 9-5 in overtime. Linards Feldbergs made 48 saves.
Three of the four games of the series have gone to overtime. The winner-take-all game five is Tuesday at the Premier Center.
New ballot measure guide to be mailed to North Dakota voters ahead of election
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