Fast start propels Bruins to State Tourney

Fargo South put together their best stretch of basketball of the whole season to start the game against Devils Lake as they ran out to an amazing 26-2 lead and then held off numerous Firebird rallies late in the game to post a very hard fought 77-69 win and advance to the East Region Title game and also qualify for next week's state tournament. In that fast start, the Bruins spread the wealth on offense. Amy Stroup, Siri Burck, Katie Thorson, and Kirsten Pattison all had hoops before the Firebirds got on the board. Emily Black broke the ice for the Firebirds at the 13:52 mark to make it a 13-2 South lead, but the Bruin defense would hold Devils Lake without a point again until an Ashley Privatsky three point play with 8:48 to play in the half. By that time, 3 other Bruins had scored as Ali Stensgard scored inside, Mandy Hage scored on a nice midrange shot, and Kristen Anstadt hit a three pointer from the right wing. The remainder of the first half was evenly played, with the lead hovering around 20 points for most of the half and the Bruins took a 41-21 lead into the lockerroom. In an exciting second half though, the Firebirds just kept chipping away and chipping away at the lead. Ashley Privatsky became nearly impossible to guard as she was able to continually get penetration into the lane which caused all kinds of problems for South. The Bruins scored first in the half on a basket by Amy Stroup to make it 43-21, but then the Firebirds would heat up offensively as they racked up 48 second half points. Emily Black made a pair of three pointers to cut into the lead and Emilee Soper hit one as well, and just 6 minutes into the second half, the Firebirds had pulled back to under 10 points as the Bruins led 47-38. The last 10 minutes of the game was very entertaining, as both teams made big shots and made big plays. Caityn Haring hit a pair of freethrows and Mandy Hage rattled in a three pointer to give the Bruins breathing room, extending to a 54-39 score, but that three pointer was immediately answered by an Emilee Soper three pointer. A steal and a three pointer by Emily Black just seconds later again cut the lead to under 10 at 54-45. Then the Bruins used their inside game to again give them some breathing room. A pair of offensive rebounds by Kristen Anstadt led to points, and Kirsten Pattison was able to draw fouls and get to the line as well, and after Caitlyn Haring scored on a drive, the Bruins looked to be in control again as they led 66-50 with just over 4 minutes left, but the Firebirds would give in either. Ashley Privatsky scored another conventional three point play to give Devils Lake hope, but Siri Burck answered with a huge three pointer from the corner to answer. Privatsky again made a big play as she nailed another three poiner from straight away to make it a 70-60 with 2 minutes to play, then set up her teammate with a nice drive and dish to make it 70-62. This time Amy Stroup answered the call for the Bruins as she made a tough driving shot to make it 72-62 with just over a minute to play, and the Bruins were able to cash in at the freethrow line in the closing minute to hold onto the hard fough win. South put 4 players in double figures scoring, led by Katie Thorson with 14, Kristen Anstadt with 13, Kirsten Pattison with 12, and Caitlyn Haring with 10 and also led the Bruins with 10 assists, 8 rebounds, and 3 steals. South improves to 15-6 on the season and gets the chance to defend their East Region title Monday night against Shanley. In 2 prior games against the Deacons, South had lost by 5 and by 3.

See the complete box score here

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Boxscore:
Fargo South: Burck 3 1-2 8 8, Thorson 5 3-4 14, Hage 3 2-2 9, Stroup 3 0-1 6, Haring 2 6-9 10, Pattison 3 6-7 12, Stensgard 2 1-2 5, Anstadt 5 2-2 13; Totals 26 21-29 77, Three point goals: Hage, Burck, Thorson, Anstadt

Devils Lake: Privatsky 8 6-6 24, Soper 2 0-0 6, Black 3 5-6 13, Burtness 5 3-4 13, Kuntz 0 2-4 2, Hanson 4 1-6 9, Gatham 1 0-0 2; Totals: 23 17-26 69, Three point goals: Privatsky 2, Soper 2, Black 2

Fouled out: Soper; Total Fouls: South 24, DL 25; Rebounds: South 36(Haring 8), DL 32(Privatsky, Burtness 7), Assists: South 20(Haring 10), DL 12(Privatsky 5), Steals: South 5(Haring 3), DL 9(Privatsky 4), Turnovers: South 19, DL 11;