Presley Brown decelerates between plays. (Photo by Mojo Hill)
DEVILS LAKE — A relatively shaky start turned into one of the Firebirds’ most dominant stretches this season.
Justin Klein called a timeout 55 seconds into the game. His team trailed Grafton, 5-0.
It was tied, 11-11, around five minutes in.
Devils Lake went on a 31-2 run from there to completely bury Grafton into the ground. The No. 3 seed Firebirds (13-9) defended their home court, winning 67-47 against No. 6 seed Grafton (6-15) in the last of four quarterfinal games on Monday.
The Firebirds secured a spot in Tuesday’s Region 2 semifinals.
“Good win,” Klein said. “Slow start to the game; I think their zone, they switched up the zone a little bit, but once we got in it and created some steals, I guess, and hit some shots, felt a little more comfortable. I thought there was a little more energy within the team. And then we got rolling.”
Klein didn’t like the way his team came out.
The Spoilers led 5-0 after a three by Gabrielle Ray.
Senior Presley Brown said that Klein told the team to “get after it” during the timeout.
“We’ve got to wake up and play,” Klein said. “They threw us off guard with the 1-2-2 [zone]. When we played them up there [in Grafton], they played a 2-3. So I wanted to talk about that a little bit and just kind of calm everybody down and explain what was going on.”
Devils Lake scored the next six, with four points from Brown and a go-ahead bucket by Tylie Brodina.
“When we score, we can set our defense and our pressing defense,” Klein said. “We finally got a bucket or two, then we got into the press, which we were able to create those turnovers and then just get the flow going. And I think everybody was a little bit more amped up and ready to go once we had a couple buckets.”
Grafton got layups from Elle Schumacher and Emma LeClerc, staying in the game into the middle of the first quarter.
But Devils Lake capitalized on turnovers galore to blow out the Spoilers for the rest of the half.
“I thought we did a good job anticipating, rotating without the ball on defense,” Klein said. “We got some steals. We got some tip balls. We did a really nice job passing in transition, too.”
The Firebirds went on a 14-0 run before Grafton finally scored again in the second quarter. They were fueled by the Brown-Brodina duo, who combined for 32 points in a 44-16 half.
The score ballooned from 11-11 to 42-13 after the 31-2 run.
“I just think we pushed the ball, passed the ball and moved the ball really well to get us going,” Brown said. “And the transition was there a lot.”
Brown had numerous steals, leading to layups on the other end of the floor. She added a triple and 4-of-6 free throw shooting to put up 17 in the first half. Brodina scored 15 points on three triples.
Brodina also passed well down low. She and Brown worked in tandem to overwhelm the Spoilers.
“Tylie and I have a really good connection,” Brown said.
Klein worked his bench players into the game earlier than normal. They were already getting some playing time in the first half.
Brown and Brodina finished with 19 and 18 points, respectively.
“I think Presley looked a lot more comfortable,” Klein said. “And she finished at the rim a lot more today than she has. So that’s a good sign.”
LeCleric hit two triples as the Spoilers played an even 16-16 third quarter with Devils Lake.
Jenae Martinson was the last Firebird starter in the game. She scored seven in the second half to finish with 10 overall. Klein took her out with 4:56 on the clock.
After Devils Lake had a 66-39 lead, Grafton finished the game on an 8-1 run.
The Firebirds got bench points from Tenley Triepke, Raeleigh Myklebust, Emma Hofstad, Jonae Meade and Gabryelle Bundy. Grafton’s Willow Demers scored seven off the bench in the second half.
“There was just some things execution-wise that we’re still a little young at,” Klein said. “They beat us up down low. … So we just have to do a little bit better job, those young kids got to focus in a little bit better on rebounding and keeping their posts off the boards.”
Devils Lake advances to a semifinal matchup with No. 2 seed Thompson on Tuesday at approximately 7 p.m.
“They’re a really good team, so we’re just going to have to get after it right away,” Brown said. “Get up on them. Hopefully we can make our shots and still give good passes.”
Devils Lake has lost to Thompson twice this season: 63-53 and 69-60.
“We’ve got to hit some shots down the stretch,” Klein said. “Going into the fourth, we’ve only been down, I think, three or four each time. So, I mean, we’ve been there. There’s not a lot we’re going to change. But we’ve got to execute and hope some shots fall in the fourth quarter.”
Other Region 2 quarterfinal scores
(8) Harvey/Wells County 27, (1) Carrington 54
(5) Hillsboro/Central Valley 47, (4) Four Winds/Minnewaukan 50
(7) May-Port-C-G 43, (2) Thompson 71
