GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The streaks continued to plague the Devils Lake girls basketball team. And for one day, the streaks came at the most inopportune of times.
After building a 9-2 lead in the first two minutes of their Eastern Dakota Conference tournament quarterfinal game, the Firebirds went cold from the field. The resulting deficit was simply too much for Devils Lake to overcome as Fargo North posted a 59-54 win on Thursday at the Alerus Center.
The loss evens the Firebirds record at 10-10 on the season and forces Devils Lake into a must-win situation in order to keep its hopes alive for a fifth straight trip to the state tournament. The Firebirds will face Wahpeton Friday afternoon in an elimination game. Wahpeton dropped a 55-30 decision to top-ranked Grand Forks Red River earlier in the day.
Despite the cold spell in the opening half, Devils Lake made things interesting in the closing minutes of the game.
Fargo North also did its part.
The Spartans went scoreless from the field over the final 5:21 after Angie Waller had given North a 54-48 advantage. The only points the Spartans were able to muster came from the foul line as they connected on just five of 13 charity tosses as the Firebirds hung around and in a position to pull off the win that only minutes before seemed virtually improbable.
“I am proud of the way our team did not give up,” Devils Lake coach Scott Privratsky said.
With North struggling from the foul line done the stretch, the Firebirds managed to pull within 58-54 with 19 seconds left in the game when Chelsea Kurtz connected from the left side. But a pair of forced shots towards the end of the game spoiled any comeback hopes the Firebirds may have harbored.
A 3-pointer by North’s Alyssa Wixo with 10:36 left in the game gave the Spartans a seemingly comfortable 16-point cushion at 50-34.
North had taken a 31-23 halftime lead and extended it to a 14-point advantage early in the second half before the Firebirds got their first spark of the night. That came in the form of junior Mackenzie Wade, who hit back-to-back 3-pointers to help Devils Lake close the gap and move to within 42-34 with 11:57 left in the game.
The Spartans responded by reeling off the next five points of the game to go ahead 50-34. But five straight points by Krissy Larson, sandwiched around a field goal by Waller, seemed to spark the Firebirds for a second time as they came within 52-39.
A pair of free throws by Hannah Elshaug brought the deficit to under 10 points for the final time at 2-43 with 7:26 to go in the game. Another 3-pointer by Wade with 5:56 to go pulled the Firebirds to within four points at 52-48 before Weller’s basket gave the Spartan their final field goal.
After taking their 9-2 lead in the opening minutes of the game the basket seemed to close on the Firebirds. Devils Lake went 7:19 without scoring until Kurtz ended that drought with 8:37 left in the half. During that time, the Spartans had managed to go on an 11-0 run to lead 15-9 before Kurtz hit from underneath. It was the lone points by the Firebirds until Haley Prozinski scored nearly four minutes later while Fargo North took advantage and built a 24-11 advantage.
“Our defense didn’t do a good job of rotating down and helping out,” Privratsky explained of the first half that saw the Spartans owning a commanding 24-15 edge in rebounding. Fargo North finished with 46 rebounds, compared to just 35 boards for the Firebirds.
“Our backs are against the wall,” Privratsky added.
Wade finished with a team-high 12 points in the game, all coming from long range, while Stephanie Mertens and Kurtz both finished with 10 points.
Alyssa Dehne’s 17 points were a game-high, while Wixo and Waller both added 10 points for the Spartans.
Devils Lake (54): Mackenzie Wade 12, Stephanie Mertens 10, Chelsea Kurtz 10, Hannah Elshaug 9, Haley Prozinski 8, Krissy Larson 5.:
Fargo North (59): Alyssa Dehne 17, Alyssa Wixo 10, Angie Waller 10, Tana Tescjendorf 7, Kira Larson 7, Mia Lopez 7, Haley Reinholz 1.
Halftime: Fargo North 31-23
3-pointers: Devils Lake 6 (Wade 4, Mertens 1, Larson 1), Fargo North 2 (Wixo). Rebounds: Devils Lake 35 (Elshaug 10), Fargo North 46 (Waller 9). Fouls: Devils Lake 22, Fargo North 16. Fouled out: Elshaug, Noel Scherer. Assists: Devils Lake 11 (Wade 3), Fargo North 9 (Dehne 3). Steals: Devils Lake 7 (Mertens 4), Fargo North 9 (Wixo 3). Blocked shots: Devils Lake 2 (Elshaug 1, Prozinski 1), Fargo North 0. Turnovers: Devils Lake 13, Fargo North 17.
