Bruins repeat as East Champions

Fargo South topped Shanley in a tightly contested Championship game on Monday night and in so doing, earned the top seed in Thursday's State Tournament as they held off the Deacons to post a 53-50 win. The Bruins led nearly the entire night but could never rest easy and in fact the game came down to the last second before being decided. After the Deacons took a quick 2-0 lead, Katie Thorson gave the Bruins the lead with a three pointer from up top, and as the teams traded baskets, the Bruins led the remainder of the night. South was able to use their inside game for most of the first half as Amy Stoup, Kristen Anstadt, Ali Stensgard, and Kirsten Pattison all were able to score in the paint. When Amy Stroup scored on a nice lob pass from Katie Lee, the Bruins had opened up their biggest lead of the game at 26-16, but Dominique Schuler, who was named EDC senior player of the year, nailed a three pointer to keep Shanley close, and as the first half was winding down and South leading 26-19, the Bruins looked to have the momentum heading into halftime as Katie Lee grabbed an offensive rebound and scored inside with 6 seconds left to give South a 28-19 lead, but the Kayla Bower stole the thunder right back by banking in a 35 footer right at the halftime buzzer to cut the lead to 28-22. The second half played out much like the first as both teams traded shot for shot and rebound for rebound to keep the game close throughout. South did manage to pull ahead by 8 points halfway through the period on a Caitly Haring contested layup, but the Deacons kept the pressure on as Dominique Schuler hit a pair of three pointers and the Deacons kept getting to the freethrow line to get right back into the game and when Lauren Carew scored on a lob pass basket, the Bruins held just a one point lead at 35-34. The Bruins never gave up the lead though, as Kirsten Pattison made a pair of freethrows and Amy Stroup made a tough runner inside. With the game winding down and the pressure mounting on both teams, the Bruins were hanging on to a small lead. Caitlyn Haring made a tough shot in the lane, Kirsten Pattison hit 3 of 4 freethrows, and Caitlyn Haring made a pair of clutch freethrows as well to give South a 4 point lead at 51-47 with under a minute to play. With both teams scrambling to gain an advantage, the Bruins were able to control the ball and force a Deacon foul with 32 seconds to play. Kristen Anstadt made 1 of 2 freethrows to give South a 52-47 lead, but the Deacons raced down the floor off the rebound, and Dominique Schuler hit her 4th three pointer of the game as she pulled up from long range to cut the lead to 52-50 with under 30 seconds to play. On the ensuing inbounds play, the Bruins were able to pass ahead to Kirsten Pattison who was fouled with 14 seconds left. Unfortunately for the Bruins, her freethrows bounced out, and the Deacons still had life. With neither team having a timeout left, Shanley almost turned the ball over, but on the recovery and ensuing wild action, the Bruins fouled Kayla Bower with 1.6 seconds left in the game. Bower's first attempt rattled out, forcing her to intentionally miss the second, but Caitlyn Haring controlled the rebound and was fouled with 0.9 seconds left. Caitlyn calmly made the first to give South the 53-50 lead, then missed the second, and Shanley didn't have time to get off a shot, and the Bruins were able to hold on to the hard fought victory. This marks the 3rd time in the last 4 years that the Bruins have won the East Region Tournament. South improves to 16-6 on the season, and will meet Jamestown in the first round of the state tournament on Thursday. Kirsten Pattison, Katie Thorson, and Caitlyn Haring were all named as All-EDC selections. See the complete box score here

Read the play by play here

Boxscore:
Fargo South: Burck 1 0-0 2, Thorson 1 0-0 3, Hage 1 0-0 2, Stroup 4 2-3 10, Haring 3 4-6 10, Pattison 3 5-7 11, Anstadt 3 1-2 8, Stensgard 2 1-3 5; Totals 19 13-21 53, Three point goals: Thorson, Anstadt

Shanley: Kay. Bower 4 4-10 13, Schuler 6 0-0 16, Kat. Bower 1 2-4 4, Paulson 1 0-0 2, Carew 5 0-2 10, Pollard 1 3-4 5; Totals: 18 9-20 50, Three point goals: Kay. Bower, Schuler 4

Fouled out: none; Total Fouls: South 16, Shanley 17; Rebounds: South 30(Haring 7), Shanley 44(Carew 10), Assists: South 11(Haring 4), Shanley 13(4 with 3), Steals: South 5(Thorson 2), Shanley 12(Kay. Bower 4), Turnovers: South 17, Shanley 21;