BRUINS WIN DEFENSIVE BATTLE

Article from FM Gametime

Article from the Fargo Forum

Article from the GF Herald - halfway down the page

In a battle of the top two teams in the EDC, Fargo South's defense carried the way in a huge 53-41 victory over Grand Forks Central on Thursday night in the Bruin gym. It was a game that featured the top defensive team in the league, Central, against a South defense that has steadily improved all season. In the end, the Bruins defense just did not allow the Knights to get any kind of run going, and their offense scored when they needed to in key situations to account for the win, a 2 point EDC win. The Bruins had balanced scoring throughout the game, with all five starters scoring at least 8 points, all 5 hitting key baskets at different times during the game. Joslynn Tharaldson scored early for the Bruins against Central's man defense and staked the Bruins to a 10-5 first quarter lead. In that quarter, Central's All-Conference player Alys Seay scored all 5 of the Knight's points. In the second, the Bruins continued to try and make use of their height advantage, as the Knights were without the services of their 6'2 post player. Tharaldson continued to score inside and get to the line, and also hit a 17 foot perimeter shot as well. Joslynn had a team high 12 points by halftime. That inside presence forced the Knights to switch to a zone defense midway through the second quarter. That meant the guards needed to step up, which they did. Lindsay Sauvageau nailed a pair of three pointers in close succession to help the Bruins build a good sized lead at 22-13, but Katie Fee sank a three pointer of her own and Cami Cochran had two offensive rebound putbacks late in the half to pull the Knights close. The Bruins took a 24-20 lead into halftime. South was able to give themselves some breathing room in the third quarter though. A three pointer by Jenna Lee beating the shot clock, a nice driving pull up jumper by McKenzie Mehlisch, and a pair of freethows by Lindsay Sauvageau gave South a 31-20 lead. After a Knights basket, Cammi Greenheck scored on a beautiful drive through the lane with a pass fake layup, and Jenna Lee hit another three pointer late in the quarter. Another three by Katie Fee kept the Knights close, but the Bruins only allowed two field goals in the third quarter, and led 36-26 heading into the final quarter. South continued their tough defensive effort, holding the Knights to only two points the first four and a half minutes of the final quarter. Meanwhile on offense, the Bruins had more big baskets made. Cammi Greenheck hit a three pointer from the top of the key, and when the Knights called timeout with just over 3 minutes to go in the game, the Bruins had built a commanding 43-28 lead. The Knights did chip away at the lead, as Seay got to the basket twice and Fee hit her third three pointer of the game, but South had the answers on offense as the Knights were forced to gamble defensively. McKenzie Mehlisch scored on a nice diagonal pass against Central's half court trap two different times, and Cammi Greenheck scored a transition basket, and the Bruins ended up with the 53-41 win. The win gives South a 10-1 EDC record and moves them to 11-2 overall. Next action for the Bruins is Saturday afternoon when they face a tough Shanley team at Shanley.

See the complete boxscore here

Boxscore:
Fargo South: Mehlisch 3 2-4 8, Sauvageau 2 6-7 12, Greenheck 4 0-1 9, Lee 4 0-0 10, Tharaldson 4 6-7 14; Totals 17 14-19 53, Three point goals: Lee 2, Sauvageau 2, Greenheck

Central: Roebuck 2 1-1 5, Seay 4 6-8 14, Fee 5 0-0 13, Green 1 1-2 3, Cochran 2 0-0 4, Bohlman 1 0-0 2; Totals: 15 8-11 41, Three point goals: 15 8-11 41

Fouled out: none; Total Fouls: South 15, C 15; Rebounds: South 23(Tharaldson 7), C 29(Cochran 7), Steals: South 8(Mehlisch, Lee 2), C 8(Seay 5), Turnovers: South 14, C 14; Assists: South 12(Mehlisch, Tharaldson 3) JV game: Fargo South 34 - GF Central 31, Soph game: GF Central 44 - Fargo South 43 - 2 OT