South upset in triple overtime

It seemed as though the Bruins were playing from behind all night, and although they were able to dodge a number of bullets in regulation and overtime, in the end the Deacons had just enough to upset the #2 seed Bruins in opening round play of the EDC tournament 86-78 in triple overime. It appeared at the start that the game wouldn't even be close. After a Mel Hageman 3 point play to cut the Shanley lead to 4-3, the Deacons scored the next 10 points of the game to open up a 14-3 lead. An elbow jumper by Sarah Kraft cut the deficit to 14-5 at the end of one. The Bruins began their long comeback attempt in the second quarter as they went to work inside. 6 points inside by Jessica Trautwein and 4 for 4 freethrows from Hagemen helped pave the way for the Bruins to cut into Shanley's lead. South chipped away and trailed by a 28-26 halftime score. The third quarter also went the Bruins way. South's inside game kept scoring, but the Bruins also got help from the perimeter. Micaela Kruckenberg, Christa Salzwedel, and Mandy Dobmeier all scored in the quarter and it looked as though the tide was turning as the Bruins overtook the Deacons and led 43-41 heading into the final frame. South appeared to take control in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter as Hageman scored 6 quick points off transition and offensive rebounds as the Bruins built a 49-41 midway through the period. A couple of bad turnovers though kept the Bruins from extending that lead and led to a pair of easy Shanley baskets to keep them close. A three pointer by Tessa Sargent and baskets by Giuli Varriano and Brittany Geffre had the Deacons retaking the lead late in the game. Free throws by Varriano gave the Deacons a 58-55 lead with just under 15 seconds left. The Bruins pushed the ball up the floor and after a pass around the perimeter, Salwedel was fouled attempting a three pointer with 3 seconds left. Showing great poise, Salwedel calmly stepped up and sank all 3 freethrows to send the game into overtime. In overtime, Shanley took control early, scoring the first 4 points, but the Bruins battled back. Salzwedel hit a big three pointer to cut the lead to 62-61. Geffre answered for Shanley to make it 64-61, but Salzwedel hit another three to make it 64-64. Trading free throws made it 65-65 and neither team could score again - the Bruins made a big defensive stop with time winding down in the first overtime. In the second overtime, again the Bruins fell behind earlly, this time 70-65. But again the Bruins would battle back - this time it was Kruckenberg who hit a big three pointer to cut the gap to 70-68. A free throw by the Deacons made it 71-68 and a basket by Trautwein cut the lead to 71-70 with under a minute to play. The Bruins fouled and Geffre made one free throw to push the lead to 72-70 and the Bruins called timeout with 8 seconds left with the ball at halfcourt. A tipped pass made the last 8 seconds a scramble, but Trautwein got off a shot in traffic that bounced off the back rim, but Dobmeier was in great position for a rebound and put up the offensive put back just before the buzzer went off and the Bruins forced a third overtime. The third overtime turned into the Jessica Sampson show though. The sophomore guard made tough shot after tough shot, and the Bruins just didn't have enough firepower to respond as 4 players had fouled out for South. A series of freethows for the Deacons pushed the final score to 86-78. Jessica Trautwein led South with 23 points and 20 rebounds, and in the process became South's all time leading rebounder. Mel Hageman scored 19 points in limited minutes, and Christa Salzwedel chipped in 13 points. South drops to 14-6 and plays GF Central in the elimination game on Friday.

Boxscore:
Fargo South: Kruckenberg 2 3-4 8, Kraft 1 0-0 2, Hageman 6 7-7 19, Salzwedel 3 5-5 13, Dobmeier 4 1-2 9, Trautwein 10 3-9 23, Flaagan 0 2-2 2, Thingelstad 1 0-0 2; Totals 27 21-29 78, Three point goals: Salzwedel 2, Kruckenberg

Shanley: Faller 1 3-6 5, Bodensteiner 0 2-2 2, Varriano 7 2-2 16, Geffre 10 13-20 33, Sampson 7 1-5 16, Sargent 2 4-4 9; Totals: 29 26-44 86, Three point goals: Sampson, Sargent

Fouled out: Varriano, Kruckenberg, Hageman, Salzwedel, Flaagan; Total Fouls: South 32, Shanley 20; Rebounds: South 78(Trautwein 20), Shanley 50(Geffre 15); Assists: South 18(Dobmeier 5), Shanley 17(Sampson 5); Turnovers: South 22, Shanley 21; Steals: South 12(Salzwedel, Flaagan 3), Shanley 13(Sampson, Geffre 3);

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