Bruins are East Region Champs!
Fargo South took care of business on Saturday night and posted a convincing 61-35 win in the East Region championship game to earn the top seed heading into next week's Class A State Tournament. Fargo South scored the first 12 points of the game to seize control early. Mel Hageman was a thorn in the Knight's side all night long as she took contol in the lane on both offense and defense. The EDC Senior Player of the Year scored 16 points, mainly by drawing fouls and getting to the line, grabbed 5 rebounds, and took 2 charges - which made 5 charges taken in the past two games. She was helped out by All-Conference player Katie Thingelstad, who scored and was fouled on a nice drive from the elbow. Meanwhile on defense, the Bruin pressure defense forced the Knights into a speed at which they didn't want to play. Numerous turnovers led to some nice transition baskets by South, including one where Cammi Greenheck drove from the left sideline across the middle of the court, beautifully setting up her defender as she dished to Rachel Wagner who finished with the lefty layup, one of a game high 8 assists for Greenheck. The Knights did battle back though. Erin Lembke and Tonia Williams both made baskets to close out the period, and trimmed the South lead to just 12-4 at the quarter. Lembke continued to spark her team as she opened up the second quarter with a three pointer to cut South's lead even further, but the Bruins responded with a pair of three pointers of their own. Greenheck hit from downtown as did the third Bruin member of the All-Conference team, Amy Hannaher. The Bruins had built a 26-12 lead and appeared to be right on the verge of really taking over the game, but the Knights didn't give in. Cierra Roebuck drove through the Bruin's defense to make it 26-14, then Alys Seay, one of 5 All-Conference players on the floor, made a heads up play right before half as she grabbed the inbounds pass at halfcourt, then drove and dished to Justine Green who hit a short jumper right before the halftime buzzer, cutting South's lead to 26-16 at halftime. The Knights continued to play hard to start the third, and when Seay stole a pass and went in for a layup on the opening possession of the half, the lead was cut to 26-18. Thats when the Bruins seniors took over. Amy Hannaher nailed a three pointer from the left wing, which was promptly followed up by another three from the same spot on the ensueing possession. A steal on the press by Wagner, who led everyone with 7 steals on the night, led to a pair of freethrows by Hageman, then another steal lead to Hannaher's third three pointer in about 90 seconds, and in a two minute span, the lead had ballooned from 8 to a commanding 37-20 score. Wagner erased any doubt about the outcome of the game when she hit a three pointer right before a shot clock buzzer near the end of the quarter, and when the quarter buzzer sounded, the Bruins were looking at a 42-27 lead, and after working so hard all year to get to this spot, the Bruins were not going to relinquish a big lead in the title game. Hageman continued to draw fouls and score from the line in the final quarter, Rachel Wagner hit another three pointer, and Joslynn Tharaldson, who played steady all three tournament games, also converted on a three point play. The Bruin defense continued to hound the Knights in a half court setting, and South cruised down the stretch to the 61-35 final. South wins its 20th game of the year, moving to 20-2 on the season. It marks the first time since 1995 that South has won at least 20 games. The East Region title also marks the first region championship for South since 1997. South will carry the #1 seed into next weeks action in Bismarck. The Bruins will play Williston at 5:30 in the Convention Center.
See the complete boxscore here
Boxscore:
Fargo South: Greenheck 1 0-0 3, Sauvageau 0 1-2 1, Hageman 3 10-12 16, Hannaher 6 0-0 16, Wagner 4 2-2 12, Thingelstad 2 1-1 5, Tharaldson 2 1-1 5, Demeter 1 1-2 3; Totals 19 16-20 61, Three point goals: Hannaher 4, Wagner 2, Greenheck
Grand Forks Central: Fee 2 0-0 4, Laidley 1 0-0 3, Seay 2 1-4 5, Roebuck 1 0-0 2, Slominski 2 0-1 4, Green 1 0-0 2, Williams 2 2-2 4, Cochran 2 0-0 4, Lembke 2 0-1 5; Totals: 15 3-8 35, Three point goals: Lembke, Laidley
Fouled out: Williams; Total Fouls: South 15, GFC 21; Rebounds: South 26(Tharaldson, Hannaher, Hageman 5), GFC 22(Slominski, Seay, Laidley 4), Steals: South 16(Wagner 7), GFC 8(Laidley 4), Turnovers: South 13, GFC 28; Assists: South 15(Greenheck 8), GFC 4;