If there were any doubts that this night belonged to Devils Lake, any and all of those doubts were removed during the final minute of the first half of Tuesday’s girls basketball game at the Devils Lake Sports Center.
With the Firebirds holding a commanding lead over a visiting Thief River Falls, Devils Lake’s Krissy Larson gained control of a Prowler turnover. Larson started upcourt and rifled a pass to teammate Mackenzie Wade, who took the ball in stride and put it in for two points.
The ball never touched the floor.
Several other things also went right for the Firebirds, who cruised to a convincing 93-44 win over the Prowlers in the season opener for Devils Lake.
“Our offense clicked,” Devils Lake coach Scott Privratsky said. “For the first eight to 10 minutes, we were pretty good ... when you shoot as many layups as we did, we should be able to win our share of games.”
So dominating were the Firebirds against the smaller Prowlers that three players hit for double figures before halftime, thanks in large part to a 34-2 run to start the game for the Firebirds.
Steph Mertens had 16 points before the break, while Hannah Elshaug and Wade each had 11 in the books before the intermission and Devils Lake led 55-14 at that point.
“I thought we were pretty unselfish,” added Privratsky, whose team is looking for its fifth straight trip to the state tournament. “We made the extra pass to get the ball to someone who had a better shot. We will have a lot of success if we continue to play that way.”
Fifteen different players scored for the Firebirds on the night as Privratsky was able to work his entire roster into action.
“That means a lot,” Elshaug said following the game. “They are all part of the team, too.”
Mertens finished with a game-high 22 points for Devils Lake, while Elshaug finished with 17 and Wade ended the game with 16 points.
“(Elshaug) played really well,” the Devils Lake coach said.
She was eight of 12 from the floor and added five rebounds as the Firebirds held a commanding 46-32 advantage on the boards. Kasi Eisenzimmer led the Firebirds with seven rebounds.
Devils Lake returns to action Dec. 15 when the Firebirds travel to Fargo South in a key early-season Eastern Dakota Conference matchup with the Bruins.
Thief River Falls (44): Brooke Holtman 2, Ashley Boen 5, Gracie Daniels 2, Hailey Peterson 3, Kirstyn Scholin 2, Morgan Numedahl 1, Lindsey Guzek 16, Lacey Stennes 8, Sarah Korpi 3, Becca Kruta 1, Paige Lofberg 1.
Devils Lake (93): Krissy Larson 3, Mackenzie Wade 16, Kelley Olson 2, Jacklyn Knowski 5, Steph Mertens 22, Ashlie Whalen 2, Hannah Elshaug 17, Cheslyn Peterson 2, Kasi Eisenzimmer 6, Chelsea Kurtz 2, Haley Prozinski 8, Autum Wang 2, Skylar Lange 2, Morghan Carew 1, Alexis Fee 2.
3-pointers: TRF 4 (Guzek 2, Boen); DL 3 (Larson 1, Wade 1, Knowski 1). Rebounds: TRF 32 (Daniels 3, Stennes 3, Lofberg 3); DL 46 (Eisenzimmer 7). Fouls: TRF 21, DL 17. Fouled out: none. Assists: TRF 3 (Boen 1, Peterson 1, Numedahl 1); DL 30 (Mertens 6). Steals: TRF 7 (Guzek 2, Stennes 2); DL 17 (Mertens 6). Blocked shots: TRF 0; DL 2 (Peterson 1, Wang 1). Turnovers: TRF 22, DL 26.
Halftime: Devils Lake 55-14
Records: Devils Lake 0-0 EDC, 1-0 overall
Devils Lake, ND —
