Bruins struggle in second half, drop game to Wahpeton

Wahpeton broke open a close halftime game and ran away with a 54-39 win over Fargo South on Friday night in the Bruin gym. South got off to a good start, scoring a quick back door layup by Emily Stroup, then followed that with an Alyssa May basket and an Anna Diederich three pointer to build a 7-2 lead. The Bruins had a tough time with fouls all night though, and the Huskies spent most of the first half shooting freethrows, which also forced the Bruins to sit key players with foul trouble for major minutes in the half. The Bruins weathered that storm though, and kept things close. Madeline Strandemo scored a three pointer and another basket, both on assists from Madie Erickson, to give the Bruins an 18-13 lead midway through the half. South still was in great shape when Madie Erickson nailed a three pointer from the corner to give the Bruins a 25-20 lead with 3 minutes left before halftime. But unfortunately for South, they would only score 3 more points over the next 13 minutes of game action spanning both halves. Wahpeton finished the half on an 8-1 run to lead 28-26 at halftime, then outscored the Bruins 15-2 to start the second half to build a 43-28 lead with 8 minutes to play. South, who had turned things around over the last number of weeks in the turnover and rebounding departments, could not control either on Friday night. The Huskies dominated the glass, outrebounding the Bruins 45-29, and forced South into 15 second half turnovers. Add to that the Bruins 4-20 from the three point line and 3-14 from the freethrow line, and it all ended up with the not pretty loss for South. Madeline Strandemo led the Bruins with 10 points, but no other Bruin hit double figures. The loss keeps South stuck at the bottom of the EDC with a 2-11 conference record. South has a busy week next week with games on Thursday, Friday, and the following Monday.

play by play of the game
complete boxscore

Boxscore:
Fargo South: Erickson 1 0-0 3, Strandemo 4 0-2 10, Taber 3 1-3 7, Stroup 1 1-2 3, Foss 1 0-3 2, May 2 0-0 4, Diederich 3 0-2 7, Bisimwa 1 0-0 2, Anderson 0 1-2 1; Totals: 16 3-14 39, Three point goals: Strandemo 2, Erickson, Diederich

Wahpeton: Birchem 1 0-0 2, Klosterman 3 6-10 12, Irwin 2 5-6 9, Bumgarner 2 5-8 11, DeVillers 3 0-1 6, Differding 1 3-4 5, Enderson 1 3-4 5, Wynn 2 0-0 4; Totals: 15 22-33 54, Three point goals: Bumgarner 2

Fouled out: Foss; Total Fouls: South 23, W 17; Rebounds: South 29(Diederich 6), W 45(2 with 7); Assists: South 11(Diederich 5), W 8, Steals: South 12(Strandemo 4), W 14(Bumgarner 5); Turnovers: South 21, W 23