Bruins fall to Mandan pressure

Fargo South started strong on the opening day of the holiday tournament, but in the end couldn't handle the 32 minutes of Mandan pressure defense and dropped a 56-40 decision on Wednesday afternoon in the Bismarck gym. The Bruins got a sophomore spark early as Amy Stroup got them on the board first with a pair of freethrows and Kate Molbert came in off the bench for a quick 4 points which included a nice inside move through traffic. Stroup and Molbert combined for 8 of the Bruins' 10 points in the opening quarter, as South built a 10-6 lead. In the second quarter, the Bruins still held tough. The Bruins handled the Mandan zone pressure and were able to keep the Braves from getting easy looks at the basket when Mandan had the ball. Katie Thorson hit a three pointer in the quarter, but the Braves were able to stay close thanks to Bruin fouls. The Braves only made 2 field goals in the quarter, but got to the line 10 times in the period. At halftime, South held a 19-17 lead. Things continued to go well for the early part of the third quarter as well as South built a 27-20 lead midway through the period thanks to a pair of nice driving baskets by Amy Stroup and a midrange shot by Mallory Kumm, but thats when the wheels started to fall off for the Bruins. Mandan cranked up their defensive pressure and the Bruins began to turn the ball over in rapid succession. Mandan scored 14 of the quarters last 16 points to turn a five point deficit into a 5 point lead, and led 34-29 heading into the final frame. The fourth started like the thrid ended, with the Bruins unable to handle the pressure from Mandan. A parade of layups and freethrows allowed the Braves to double up South, outscoring them 22-11 in the closing period and cruised to the large victory. South put nobody in double figures, although 3 different girls scored 8 points. The loss drops South to 3-1 on the season.

Boxscore:
Fargo South: Thorson 3 0-0 8, Hage 1 0-0 2, Molbert 2 2-2 6, Kumm 2 0-0 4, Stroup 3 2-2 8, Deyle 2 0-0 4, Pattison 3 2-2 8; Totals 16 6-6 40, Three point goals: Thorson 2,

Mandan: Standemo 5 3-5 13, Sandow 1 0-0 2, Collins 1 4-5 6, Schleicter 1 6-6 9, Stockdile 2 0-0 5, Jenson 2 0-0 4, Gannon 2 0-0 4, Hermanson 0 1-2 1, Luger 1 0-0 2, Stromstad 2 3-4 8, Meyer 1 0-0 2; Totals: 18 17-22 56, Three point goals: Schleicter, Stockdile, Stromstad

Fouled out: Pattison; Total Fouls: South 24, M 11; Rebounds: South 43(Kumm 8), M 25(Stromstad 4), Steals: South 7(Thorson, Hage 2), M 20, Turnovers: South 34, M 19; Assists: South 9(Stroup 3), M 13(Strandemo 3); Soph game: none