Spuds take it to the Bruins
The Moorhead Spuds dominated all aspects of the game on Thursday night and overwhelmed the Fargo South Bruins 58-41 in front of a boistrous crowd in the Bruin gym. Moorhead's tough defensive pressure forced 35 South turnovers, which basically kept the Bruins from getting any rhythm on offense, while many of those turnovers led directly to transition baskets to help build their lead. The game had an ominous beginning, as the Spuds jumped out to a quick 10-1 lead, thanks to a three point play by Kayla Hooten to start the game, and helped by a Kristin Dolence three pointer a minute later. After a Bruin timeout, South started to chip away at the Spud lead though. The Bruins attacked inside and cashed in from the freethrow line, hitting on 9 of 10 in the quarter. Mel Hageman had 7 points in that run and Katie Thingelstad added four more. Meanwhile though, the Spuds were red hot from the field in the opening quarter, racing out to a 20-15 first quarter lead. The second quarter showed the strength of the Spud inside game. Hooten got loose inside using both power and position, and began to take control of the lane. The Spuds used a 12-2 run to start the quarter and led 32-17 late in the half before South started to close the gap slightly. The Bruins scored on a steal and layup, then made more freethrows to cut the gap to 32-22 and had chances to get closer, but the Spud defense kept shutting the door. Jackie Gulsvig finished the scoring by making one freethrow after she was fouled on a last second three point attempt from midcourt. The Spuds took a 33-22 lead into halftime. The third quarter proved to be a battle of runs, as the crowd and coaches got a little fiesty. South and Moorhead battled hard in the third quarter, with neither team gaining or losing ground on each other. South had pulled to within 9 points at 36-27 when the Spud bench was whistled for a technical foul, further living up both crowds. Hageman converted on one of two freethrows to make it 36-28, and the Bruins appeared to have some momentum, but 4 straight turnovers leading to Moorhead baskets spelled doom for South. By quarters end, the Spuds had wrestled the momentum back in their favor, and led 44-31 at the break. The lead ballooned to start the quarter, as Hooten totally took over for Moorhead. The Spud post scored 9 of her game high 24 points in the final frame and was joined by her sophomore counterpart Danielle Cook in dominating the post area. Hageman was the only South scorer in double figures, as she scored 17 points, and also led the Bruins with 10 rebounds. The loss moves South to 11-2 on the season. Next action for the Bruins is Saturday afternoon when they host Shanley.
See the complete boxscore here
Boxscore:
Fargo South: Mehlisch 1 0-0 2, Greenheck 2 0-0 4, Hageman 5 7-12 17, Lee 1 0-0 3, Hannaher 0 2-2 2, Thingelstad 2 5-6 9, Tharaldson 2 0-0 4; Totals 13 14-20 41, Three point goals: Lee
Moorhead: Gulsvig 5 1-4 12, Dolence 1 0-0 3, Wiger 3 0-2 6, Smemo 2 0-0 4, J. Dolence 0 2-2 2, Cook 2 3-4 7, Hooten 11 2-5 24; Totals: 24 8-17 58, Three point goals: Gulsvig, Dolence
Fouled out: Smemo; Total Fouls: South 15, Moorhead 20; Rebounds: South 35(Hageman 10), Moorhead 30(Hooten 7), Steals: South 7(Greenheck 3), Moorhead 20(Hooten 7), Turnovers South 35, Moorhead 19; Assists: South 9(Hannaher 3) JV game: South 65 - Moorhead 42, Soph game: South 50 - Moorhead 37