Bruins hold off Demons 49 - 43

The South Bruins took a big step forward on Friday night, holding off a charging Bismarck Demons team in the late going to win their second straight game to start the year. Early on it looked like the Bruins would simply pull steadily away from Bismarck, as South played great pressure defense which forced a number of turnovers. Bismarck could only manage 4 baskets in the first 15 minutes of the game as the Bruins opened up a 23-10 lead with only a minute to play before the half. The third quarter was evenly played though as the Demons did a better job of handling the South pressure, getting some clean looks at the basket which they converted. The Bruins countered with 3 inside baskets from Jessica Trautwein and a shot clock buzzer beating three pointer by Mandy Dobmeier in the quarter to mainain an 11 point lead heading into the final quarter at 37-26. The first 5 minutes of the fourth quarter however belonged to the Demons. The Demons cranked up their pressure defense and forced numerous South turnovers, many of which led to easy baskets on the other end. Bismarck scored the first 13 points of the quarter and led 39-37 with just over 3 minutes remaining in the game and looked to be rolling. The Bruins though were not ready to give in so easily and 3 freethrows by Trautwein pulled the Bruins closer at 41-40. After a basket by the Demons gave them a 43-40 lead, South played with great poise and was able to put together a string of defensive stops, including back to back blocks by Micaela Kruckenberg and Trautwein, tough rebounding and good ball pressure. The Bruins played smart with the ball and cashed in at the free throw line in the late going. Dobmeier made 4 clutch freethrows and Kruckenberg and Mel Hageman both went 2 for 2 from the line in the late going as South scored the last 9 points of the game for the 49-43 final. All told, the Bruins went 12 for 14 from the line in the final quarter, accounting for all the Bruin points scored in the period. Trautwein led the Bruins in scoring for the second straight game with 21 points. The win puts the Bruins at 2 - 0 on the season. Next up for South is Saturday afternoon when they play the defending state champs from Mandan at 4:15 in the Bruin gym.

Boxscore:
Fargo South: Rice 1 0-0 2, Hageman 0 2-2 2, Trautwein 5 11-17 21, Calkins 2 5-6 9, Dobmeier 1 4-4 7, Stroup 1 2-2 4, Kruckenberg 1 2-2 4; Totals: 11 26-33 49; Three point goals: Dobmeier

Bismarck: Hager 1 0-0 3, Landers 2 0-0 5, Aberle 1 0-1 2, Knoll 5 2-4 15, Olesen 4 0-0 8, Lervick 1 0-0 2, Olson 2 0-0 4, Vossler 2 0-0 4; Totals: 18 2-5 43; Three point goals: Knoll 3, Hager, Landers

Fouls: South 14, Bismarck 23; Fouled out: Landers, Olesen; Rebounds: South 27(Hageman 8), Bismarck na; Assists: South 5, Bismarck na, Steals: South 7(Calkins 5) Turnovers: South 22, Bismarck na

click here to go back to our other game results