2nd, 3rd quarters lift Bruins over Jays

After being outplayed in the opening quarter by a scrappy Jamestown team, the Bruins cranked up their defensive pressure in the two middle quarters and rolled to a 68-32 road victory on Thursday night. Ashley Jacobs got the Jays off to a good start as she controlled the lane early, scoring 3 inside baskets to give the Jays an early lead. South stayed close on three pointers by Amy Hannaher and Rachel Wagner, coupled with a pair of baskets inside by Katie Thingelstad. South had the score knotted at 12-12, but a basket by Melissa Falk right before the quarter buzzer gave the Jays a 14-12 lead. From there, South tightened up on the defensive end, which led to the running game getting going. South scored the first 12 points of the period to take a 24-12 lead. Hannaher had another three pointer and Mel Hageman was able to get loose inside for a pair of baskets as well. A Brandi Becker three pointer cut the lead to 24-17, and the Jays cut the lead further from the line to pull to within 26-21 with just over a minute to play before halftime. The Bruins responded though to take the momentum into halftime as Hannaher hit another three and Joslynn Tharaldson converted on a three point play to give the Bruins a 32-21 halftime lead. The Bruins carried that momentum over into the third quarter as well. Cammi Greenheck continued to harass the Blue Jay guards, and Wagner and McKenzie Mehlisch began to create problems for the Jays as well with their great anticipation defensively. The Bruins used that defensive pressure to score a number of easy baskets and freethrows to extend to a 41-21 lead. After Falk hit a three pointer midway through the quarter, the Bruins then ran off the next 12 points to take a commanding 53-24 lead into the fourth quarter. That three by Falk was the Blue Jays' only points of the period. The third quarter was highlighted by a nice transition basket by Thingelstad, and a beautiful backdoor layup by Wagner. The Bruins opened up the fourth with a steal and basket by Greenheck, and then made another nice play when Hannaher hit Sarah Kraft on a nice pass of a sideline inbounds for an easy basket. The Bruins made hay from the line in the fourth quarter, making 9 of 10 in the period to coast to the 36 point win. South was led in scoring by Thingelstad with 16, but also had two other double figure scorers, Hannaher with 13 and Greenheck with 12. The win moves South to 10-1 overall and 10-0 in the EDC. Next action for the Bruins is Saturday afternoon when they host North at the South gym.

See the complete boxscore here

Boxscore:
Fargo South: Mehlisch 1 2-2 4, Greenheck 5 2-2 12, Kraft 1 0-0 2, Hageman 2 3-3 7, , Hannaher 3 2-4 13, Wagner 2 2-2 7, Thingelstad 5 6-6 16, Tharaldson 1 5-5 7, Demeter 1 0-0 2; Totals 21 22-24 68, Three point goals: Hannaher 3, Wagner

Jamestown: Falk 2 0-0 5, Youngquist 1 0-2 2, Gross 1 0-0 3, Jacobs 4 0-0 8, Williams 2 1-2 5, Fettig 0 3-5 3, Backer 3 0-0 6; Totals: 12 4-9 32, Three point goals: Backer 2, Falk, Gross

Fouled out: Hageman, Falk; Total Fouls: South 18, J 22; Rebounds: South 27(Thingelstad 5), J 27(Jacobs 9), Steals: South 27(Mehlisch 5), J 3(no leader), Turnovers: South 20, J 31; Assists: South 15(Hannaher 4), J 9(Fettig 3); JV game: Fargo South 60 - Jamestown 41, Soph game: Fargo South 48 - Jamestown 32 L>