Bruins rally past Bismarck St. Mary's

Fargo South took a big step forward in their season on Saturday night in the final game of the East-West Classic. The Bruins, after playing well in stretches for most of the weekend but not finding the win column, finally put together a stretch run that lifted them to their first win of the year with an exciting 48-45 victory over preseason #6 Bismarck St. Mary's. South again had a tough time getting out of the gate and the Saints opened up a 9 point first quarter lead and led by 7 at 13-6 after the quarter ended. That is where the lead stayed for most of the game as the two teams played even in both the second, third, and first half of the fourth quarters. The Saints could not put the Bruins away, but the Bruins couldn't seem to make up any ground either. For South, their step towards maturity as a team came in the huddle of a time out with just under 4 minutes to go in the game and the Bruins down 7 points at 41-34. South needed to play a great final 4 minutes and they did just that. Freshman Christa Salzwedel hit a three pointer to pull the Bruins within four points to start the comeback. Great defensive pressure in the backcourt gave the ball back to South on a ten second violation and Salzwedel was able to score again on a driving layup through the lane to pull the Bruins within 2. Sophomore Micaela Kruckenberg capped off the rally by the Bruins with some clutch freethrow shooting. Also helping down the stretch in the final minutes were some key rebounds and a steal by Katie Luecke, and an important tipped pass by Alicia Calkins. The Saints did have a chance to tie the game up in the final 5 seconds, but the Bruins played solid defense and didn't even allow a shot to be taken before the final buzzer went off. The Bruins open up their conference schedule on Thursday night at home when they host their crosstown rivals from Fargo North.

Boxscore:
Fargo South: Kruckenberg 0 7-9 7, Calkins 3 0-2 6, Salzwedel 3 2-2 10, Rice 3 0-1 6, Luecke 4 3-5 11, Trautwein 2 2-6 6, Stroup 0 2-2 2, Totals 15 16-27 48, Three point goals: Salzwedel 2
St. Mary's: Bohl 2 0-0 4, Barth 2 0-0 4, Kudrna 2 0-0 4, Jacobson 4 0-1 8, Vetter 1 0-1 3, Cichy 1 0-0 2, Dirk 4 1-4 9, Seagren 4 1-2 9, Totals: 16 9-20 45, Three point goals: Vetter
Fouled out: Trautwein, Jacobson; Total Fouls: South 18, St. Mary's 21; Rebounds: South 29(Trautwein 7), St. Mary's na; Turnovers: South 15, St. Mary's na; JV game: none, Soph game: none

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