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With her team trailing by three points as the game drew to a close, Kasi Eisenzimmer stepped up and delivered in a big way as Devils Lake rallied from a seven-points half time deficit and then held on to defeat West Fargo 70-69 on Saturday at the Devils Lake Sports Center.
Eisenzimmer connected on a 3-pointer from the left side with 6:02 left in the game to bring the Firebirds into a 53-53 tie with the Packers and culminated a comeback that began after West Fargo broke a 6-6 deadlock in the first half.
Eisenzimmer’s try sparked the Firebirds, who got another 3-pointer from Mackenzie Wade on their next trip down the floor to give Devils Lake a 56-55 advantage with 4:46 left to go.
But, the Packers would not go quietly — which proved to be a common theme down the stretch.
Another 3-pointer by Eisenzimmer, her third of the game, tied the game again at 59-59 with 3:49 to go in the game. A pair of free throws from Jacklyn Knowski 20 seconds later tied the game for the final time at 61-61, and when Hannah Elshaug took an inbounds pass and converted on the free throw, Devils Lake found themselves ahead to stay.
“You really have to give the girls credit,” Devils Lake coach Scott Privratsky said. “They battled back and got the lead ... and then had enough to hold on.
“We were disciplined enough to get into our offense and run it in the second half,” added Privratsky, whose team improved to 2-1 on the season and evened its Eastern Dakota Conference record at 1-1 after losing to top-ranked Fargo South earlier in the week.
West Fargo fell to 0-2 in the EDC and is 1-2 on the year.
Devils Lake managed to increase its lead to 70-63 with just under one minute left in the game when Haley Prozinski fed a nifty pass to Eisenzimmer underneath for her final points of the game.
That was when things got dicy.
The Firebirds went to the foul line three times in the final 30 seconds with a chance to seal the win. Devils Lake failed to capitalize. All three times the Firebirds missed the front end of the bonus and allowed West Fargo to maintain a breath of life.
A pair of free throws from Katelynn Holland, sandwiched around field goals from Jenna Green and Jill Gustafson allowed the Packers to close to within one before West Fargo was unable to get off a last-second shot to emerge with the win.
“(Devils Lake) is a very aggressive team,” West Fargo coach Barb Metcalf said. “They will not let you take it easy to the basket and we forced a lot of shots. We also didn’t take care of the ball the way we needed to.”
Elshaug and Eisenzimmer were two of four Devils Lake players to finish in double figures. Elshaug, who also finished with a game-high 11 rebounds, led the way with 19 points, while Eisenzimmer scored 13, all in the second half.
“(Eisenzimmer) played really well in the second half,” Privratsky said. “She hit some key baskets and came up with some tough defensive shots and did her part in getting others involved in the offense.”
Steph Mertens and Prozinski also finished in double figures for the Firebirds with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Holland led all scorers with 20 points, while Green (14), Courtney Voeller (12) and Becher (11) also finished in double figures for the Packers.
West Fargo (69): Katelynn Holland 20, Jenna Green 14, Courtney Voeller 12, Carissa Becher 11, Danielle Nelson 6, Jill Gustafson 4, Hayley Miller 2.
Devils Lake (70): Hannah Elshaug 19, Kasi Eisenzimmer 13, Steph Mertens 12, Haley Prozinski 10, Mackenzie Wade 9, Jacklyn Knowski 4, Ashli Whalen 3.
3-pointers: WF 1 (Holland), DL 6 (Eisenzimmer 3, Wade 1, Mertens 1, Whalen 1). Rebounds: WF 39 (Green 9), DL 35 (Elshaug 11). Fouls: WF 10, DL 11. Fouled out: none. Assists: WF 10 (Holland 5), DL 17 (Elshaug 5, Eisenzimmer 4). Steals: WF 6 (Holland 2, Becher 2), DL 7 (Eisenzimmer 3). Turnovers: WF 17, DL 16.
Halftime: West Fargo 34-27
With her team trailing by three points as the game drew to a close, Kasi Eisenzimmer stepped up and delivered in a big way as Devils Lake rallied from a seven-points half time deficit and then held on to defeat West Fargo 70-69 on Saturday at the Devils Lake Sports Center.
Eisenzimmer connected on a 3-pointer from the left side with 6:02 left in the game to bring the Firebirds into a 53-53 tie with the Packers and culminated a comeback that began after West Fargo broke a 6-6 deadlock in the first half.
Eisenzimmer’s try sparked the Firebirds, who got another 3-pointer from Mackenzie Wade on their next trip down the floor to give Devils Lake a 56-55 advantage with 4:46 left to go.
But, the Packers would not go quietly — which proved to be a common theme down the stretch.
Another 3-pointer by Eisenzimmer, her third of the game, tied the game again at 59-59 with 3:49 to go in the game. A pair of free throws from Jacklyn Knowski 20 seconds later tied the game for the final time at 61-61, and when Hannah Elshaug took an inbounds pass and converted on the free throw, Devils Lake found themselves ahead to stay.
“You really have to give the girls credit,” Devils Lake coach Scott Privratsky said. “They battled back and got the lead ... and then had enough to hold on.
“We were disciplined enough to get into our offense and run it in the second half,” added Privratsky, whose team improved to 2-1 on the season and evened its Eastern Dakota Conference record at 1-1 after losing to top-ranked Fargo South earlier in the week.
West Fargo fell to 0-2 in the EDC and is 1-2 on the year.
Devils Lake managed to increase its lead to 70-63 with just under one minute left in the game when Haley Prozinski fed a nifty pass to Eisenzimmer underneath for her final points of the game.
That was when things got dicy.
The Firebirds went to the foul line three times in the final 30 seconds with a chance to seal the win. Devils Lake failed to capitalize. All three times the Firebirds missed the front end of the bonus and allowed West Fargo to maintain a breath of life.
A pair of free throws from Katelynn Holland, sandwiched around field goals from Jenna Green and Jill Gustafson allowed the Packers to close to within one before West Fargo was unable to get off a last-second shot to emerge with the win.
“(Devils Lake) is a very aggressive team,” West Fargo coach Barb Metcalf said. “They will not let you take it easy to the basket and we forced a lot of shots. We also didn’t take care of the ball the way we needed to.”
Elshaug and Eisenzimmer were two of four Devils Lake players to finish in double figures. Elshaug, who also finished with a game-high 11 rebounds, led the way with 19 points, while Eisenzimmer scored 13, all in the second half.
“(Eisenzimmer) played really well in the second half,” Privratsky said. “She hit some key baskets and came up with some tough defensive shots and did her part in getting others involved in the offense.”
Steph Mertens and Prozinski also finished in double figures for the Firebirds with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Holland led all scorers with 20 points, while Green (14), Courtney Voeller (12) and Becher (11) also finished in double figures for the Packers.
West Fargo (69): Katelynn Holland 20, Jenna Green 14, Courtney Voeller 12, Carissa Becher 11, Danielle Nelson 6, Jill Gustafson 4, Hayley Miller 2.
Devils Lake (70): Hannah Elshaug 19, Kasi Eisenzimmer 13, Steph Mertens 12, Haley Prozinski 10, Mackenzie Wade 9, Jacklyn Knowski 4, Ashli Whalen 3.
3-pointers: WF 1 (Holland), DL 6 (Eisenzimmer 3, Wade 1, Mertens 1, Whalen 1). Rebounds: WF 39 (Green 9), DL 35 (Elshaug 11). Fouls: WF 10, DL 11. Fouled out: none. Assists: WF 10 (Holland 5), DL 17 (Elshaug 5, Eisenzimmer 4). Steals: WF 6 (Holland 2, Becher 2), DL 7 (Eisenzimmer 3). Turnovers: WF 17, DL 16.
Halftime: West Fargo 34-27
