Bruins win tourney opener

Fargo South jumped out early on Fargo North and rolled to a big 71-33 win in the East Region Tournament opener on Thursday afternoon at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks. The Bruins used a balanced scoring attack to steadily pull away from the Spartans as the Bruins placed 5 different girls in double figures scoring. In the opening quarter, South had 6 different girls score as they jumped out to a 16-4 lead after one period. The Bruin press was the main problem for the Spartans, as South forced 22 first half turnovers by North. Unfortunately for South, they were also saddled with the turnover bug and let some chances to really blow the game open slip by. Amy Hannaher gave a big spark in the second quarter though as she had steals and layups on back to back possessions to keep North at bay. Meanwhile Katie Thingelstad got loose inside for some nice post baskets as well. At halftime, South led 29-15. The third quarter though is where South really put the game out of reach. Rachel Wagner continued to dominate the top of the defense, while Joslynn Tharaldson and Melanie Hageman joined Thingelstad as the three headed monster of the Bruins post area took over. The trio combined for 16 points in the third quarter, and Cammi Greenheck opened things up from outside, hitting a perimeter jumper and drawing a foul on a three point attempt to get 3 freethrows. South put 23 points on the board in the third and built a commanding 52-25 lead after three quarters. In the fourth, the Bruins finally connected from downtown, as Rachel Wagner and Lindsay Sauvageau both hit from behind the arc, and the Bruins cruised to the 71-33 final. Rachel Wagner led the Bruins balanced attack with 13 points and 6 assists, while Katie Thingelstad had 12, Cammi Greenheck scored 11, and Mel Hageman and Joslynn Tharaldson each scored 10. South improves to 18-2 overall and moves into the semifinals tonight against Devils Lake at 8:00 PM.

See the complete boxscore here

Boxscore:
Fargo South: Sauvageau 1 0-0 3, Greenheck 4 3-3 11, Hageman 3 4-4 10, Lee 1 1-1 3, Hannaher 3 1-2 7, Wagner 5 2-2 13, Thingelstad 6 0-0 12, Tharaldson 4 2-2 10, Demeter 0 2-2 2; Totals 27 15-16 71, Three point goals: Wagner, Sauvageau

Fargo North: Hanson 3 0-1 6, Arechigo 1 1-2 1, Olson, Larson 4 0-0 8, Carpenter 2 1-4 5, J. Goughnour 2 0-0 5, Kummet 2 0-0 4, Fiechtner 0 2-2 2; Totals: 14 4-9 33, Three point goals: Goughner

Fouled out: none; Total Fouls: South 11, North 13; Rebounds: South 29(Hageman 6), North 14(Fiechtner 4), Steals: South 17(Greenheck 5), North 9, Turnovers South 21, North 33; Assists: South 18(Wagner 6) L>