Bruins dethrone Mandan, advance to State Title Game

Fargo South upended 6 time defending state champion Mandan in a very hard fought semi-final win on Friday afternoon at the Fargodome to advance to their 3rd championship game in the last 6 seasons. Both the Bruins and the Braves showcased their pressure defenses, and as a result, both teams found it difficult to get clean looks at the basket. The Bruins jumped out to a 7-2 lead to start the game, as Siri Burck hit a three pointer, and Katie Lee and Meghan Roehrich both hit for field goals as well. However, the Braves would then go on a 10-0 run to lead 12-7. An Ali Collins three pointer gave Mandan a 17-11 lead, their biggest of the game, with just 7 minutes left in the half. The Bruins then answered with a 13-2 run of their own, a Siri Burck three pointer getting that run started, and a steal and a basket by Siri ended the run. Both teams traded points the rest of the half, and South took a 30-26 halftime lead. In the second half, the Braves got out to a fast start and took the lead again at 37-35 with 10 minutes to play, setting up a frantic last part of the game. Katie Lee hit 3 freethrows and siri Burck hit a bucket to give South a 40-39 lead, but that was quickly answered by 2 Ali Collins baskets, giving Mandan a 43-40 lead with under 6 minutes to play. Alley Fisher then hit a huge three pointer on an out of bounds play with just 5 seconds on the shot clock to tie the game up. That big play sparked South to a number of other big plays down the stretch. Siri Burck had a steal and got fouled for a freethrow, and Meghan Roehrich grabbed an important rebound and got fouled, converting both freethrows to give South a 46-43 lead with 4 minutes to play. Katie Lee made another pair of freethrows to keep South's lead at 48-45. Then with under 3 minutes to play and the shot clock winding down, Meghan Roehrich rebounded a missed shot and had a putback and got fouled right at the shot clock buzzer and converted the freethrow, finally giving South a little bit of breathing room at 51-45. In the last 2 minutes of the game, Katie Dockter had 2 huge defensive rebounds that led to freethrows for South, and the Bruins won the game from the line, where they converted enough shots to post the extremely hard fought 56-52 win. The second half saw a total turnaround in the rebounding situation, as the Braves dominated the boards in the opening half, while South controlled the rebounds in the second half, especially late in the game. Katie Lee led 3 South players in double figures with 18 points, while Meghan Roehrich and Siri Burck both had double-doubles - Meghan with 12 points and 11 boards, and Siri with 14 points and 12 rebounds. South improves to 24-0 on the year and will play Bismarck High in the State Championship Saturday night.

play by play of the game
complete boxscore

Boxscore:
Fargo South: Roehrich 2 8-13 12, Burck 5 2-6 14, Lee 5 8-10 18, Fisher 2 0-0 6, Dockter 1 0-2 2, Haring 0 4-4 4; Totals 15 22-35 56, Three point goals: Burck 2, Fisher 2

Mandan: Helmers 2 0-0 4, Collins 10 3-3 27, Pedersen 4 1-2 9, Levi 2 2-2 6, Zander 2 2-8 6; Totals: 20 8-16 52, Three point goals: Collins 4

Fouled out: Pedersen; Total Fouls: South 13, Mandan 28; Rebounds: South 46(Burck 12), Mandan 36(Collins 9); Assists: South 13(Haring 5), Mandan 14(Pedersen 4) Steals: South 10(Burck 5), Mandan 15(Collins 6); Turnovers: South 28, Mandan 14