BRUINS CLUTCH AGAIN, DEFEAT FIREBIRDS ON THE ROAD

Fargo South battled a scrappy, physical Devils Lake team and came away with a hard fought 59-56 win in a game that came right down to the last second to determine a winner. The win clinches the EDC regular season title for South for the second straight year. Early on it was the Firebirds who came out ready to play as baskets by Becka Mertens and Miriam Miller helped stake Devils Lake to a quick 7-2 lead to open the game as the Firebirds gave notice they were not going to back down from the Bruins. Fargo South answered the challenge though, something they have done all season long. A three pointer by McKenzie Mehlisch and a steal and layup by Lindsay Sauvageau got the Bruins right back in the game as they trailed 12-11 after one period. In the second, the Bruins used the inside power of Joslynn Tharaldson to take the lead. Joslynn scored 10 points in the quarter and was on the receiving end of some nice high-low passing to score some easy baskets. The Bruins took a 26-23 lead into halftime. The Firebirds retook control of the game in the third quarter though. Emily Soper, who came off the bench, was a thorn in the Bruins side the entire third quarter. Soper got loose on transition for some easy baskets, hit a three pointer, and got to the line 4 times as the Bruins couldn't seem to keep track of where she was on the floor. The Firebirds had built a four point lead at 40-36 on a pair of Callie Hanson freethrows with under 10 seconds left in the period and looked to be in great shape, but Cammi Greenheck showed again why she is becoming the master of last second heroics as she pulled up and let fly from just inside half court, nailing the three-pointer at the buzzer, pulling South to within 40-39 and giving the Bruins a much needed shot of energy. It was the third such long buzzer-beater for Greenheck this season to go along with a game winning layup at the buzzer, and numerous shot clock buzzer-beaters as well. The final quarter was back and forth the entire time with neither team being able to build much of a lead. It appeared as though Devils Lake may take control when they built a 48-44 lead and had the Bruins scrambling for a shot with the shot clock winding down, but Lindsay Sauvageau bailed out the Bruins with a tough three pointer right at the shot clock buzzer to keep South close. Julie Hageman also made a nice lefty move in traffic to help the Bruin cause. Where the Bruins really showed their strength though was from the freethrow line late in the game. McKenzie Mehlisch and Cammi Greenheck got to the line 10 times in the late going, and were clutch, making 9 of those 10 shots and holding off the Firebirds from making an upset bid. The Bruins were led in scoring by Joslynn Tharaldson with 22 points, while Cammi Greenheck and McKenzie Mehlisch each reached double figures with 14 and 11, respectively. The win moves South to 14-1 in the EDC, and by virtue of GF Central defeating Valley City, assures South the top seed in March's East Region Tournament. Next action for South is Tuesday when they host Jamestown.

See the complete boxscore here

Boxscore:
Fargo South: Mehlisch 3 4-6 11, Greenheck 2 9-10 14, Hageman 1 0-0 2, Sauvageau 3 0-0 7, Lee 1 0-0 3, Tharaldson 9 4-4 22; Totals 19 17-20 59, Three point goals: Mehlisch, Sauvageau, Greenheck, Lee

Devils Lake: Mertens 2 0-2 4, T. Privatsky 0 1-2 1, A. Privatsky 4 8-10 18, Miller 3 1-2 7, Soper 4 5-8 15, Hoffmeyer 1 0-0 2, Hanson 2 5-6 9; Totals: 16 20-30 56, Three point goals: Privatsky 2, Soper 2

Fouled out: none; Total Fouls: South 16, DL 17; Rebounds: South 31(Tharaldson 9), DL 31(Miller 7), Steals: South 11(Mehlisch 5), DL 10(Privatsky 3), Turnovers: South 15, DL 16; Assists: South 15(Greenheck 6), DL 15(Privatsky 7); JV game: Fargo South 58 - Devils Lake 47, Soph game: Fargo South 60 - Devils Lake 23