Presley Brown dribbles the ball for Devils Lake with Four Winds/Minnewaukan’s Suri Gourd trailing behind her. (Photo by Cameron Carlson)
DEVILS LAKE — The Firebirds and Indians grinded it out for most of the first half.
But as soon as Devils Lake took off, Four Winds/Minnewaukan was left scrambling for answers.
The Indians (16-8) could never catch up as their season came to an end.
“I think the atmosphere might have got to some of our younger girls,” FW/M head coach Sean Gourd Sr. said. “We’re not used to that, really. The crowds we play in front of are not very big.”
Devils Lake (14-10) won 56-44, taking Thursday’s Region 2 third-place game at the Devils Lake Sports Center. The Firebirds secured a spot in Saturday’s state qualifiers.
“It’s just a one-game, win-or-go-home mentality,” Devils Lake head coach Justin Klein said. “We’ve got a chance on Saturday to go to state.”
At least at the beginning, the Indians played Devils Lake closer than the 56-43 score in their last meeting.
The first half had four lead changes. FW/M led 9-8 after the first quarter.
The Indians played well on the offensive boards, although converting layups was a little more of a struggle. They inched ahead with a 7-0 run after trailing 6-0 out of the gates. Cameron Bishop muscled in an and-one.
“I think they were a little more intense,” Klein said, “and I don’t think we matched that early on.”
FW/M tied it at 13-13 in the second quarter after layups from Suri Gourd and Patience Dunn.
“We kind of looked a little rattled,” Klein said. “It was kind of a struggle. There was a defensive battle right away, I guess, or maybe an offensive struggle by both teams.”
Devils Lake took over with a 12-2 run to end the first half — highlighted by a Tylie Brodina step-back triple.
“We had a fight right away and then gave up a few bounces, a few fast breaks, and it just snowballed from there,” Gourd Sr. said.
On Tuesday, Gourd Sr. talked about the importance of getting off to a better start. Not waiting a half to wake up.
The Indians trailed 25-15 at halftime — a slightly better showing than their 10-point first half in their last meeting against Devils Lake, but not by much.
“We’re not a first-half team,” Gourd Sr. said. “We just get complacent.”
Gourd was FW/M’s leading scorer at the half with six.
As the Indians’ deficit got wider, the game sped up on them and they weren’t able to convert some layups.
“We missed some bunnies,” Gourd Sr. said. “I think we missed seven or eight layups in the beginning that were just point-blank.”
Devils Lake, meanwhile, was fueled by the Brodina-Brown duo as usual. They had 10 and nine, respectively, in the first half and wound up scoring 18 each overall.
“It’s huge,” Klein said of having a player like Brodina. “She can change the pace of the game. … When she does hit one, it’s like, ‘Oh, there she is.’ And then all of a sudden, there’s two girls out on her, there’s somebody out wide on her, and it opens it up.”
The Indians briefly cut their deficit to seven in the third quarter. But Brodina hit another triple, this time off a turnover, and Jenae Martinson had an and-one.
Martinson was back in after missing Tuesday’s game with a sore knee.
“The swelling went down, and everything seemed fine,” Klein said. “The hamstring was a little tight at first. … She should be full speed on Saturday.”
Martinson missed the subsequent free throw, but Devils Lake got the rebound and Brodina hit a deep three to bury the Indians.
Devils Lake led by as many as 22.
“I thought we settled into the offense a little better,” Klein said. “We moved the ball. We found the open girl.”
FW/M’s offense only really got going once the game was already out of reach. The Indians entered the fourth quarter down 20 and had a 10-0 run, some of which came with Devils Lake’s starters already out.
Just like Tuesday’s game, Cailee Hanson got going in the second half after a scoreless first half. She hit a triple to finish with seven points.
Gourd was stuck at eight points deep into the fourth quarter. She finished the game strong, hitting two threes and making 5-of-6 free throws in the fourth quarter. She led FW/M with 17 points.
But, again, she and the Indians weren’t able to generate enough offense early on.
“That’s the game plan: Double [Gourd], take it away from her,” Klein said. “She’s not as explosive off the dribble when there’s two defenders there. So that was the key there. We double-teamed and got another defender there.”
Gourd only made one field goal in each of the first three quarters.
“That’s pretty darn good defense,” Klein said.
The Indians finished the game on a 16-8 run, but they never got the deficit down to a single digit in the fourth quarter.
Devils Lake held on without issue and advanced to Saturday’s state qualifier.
The Firebirds will play Central Cass, which lost the Region 1 championship to Kindred after upsetting defending state champion Valley City.
It’s a favorable matchup for the Firebirds, who beat Central Cass by 19 and lost to Kindred by 19 in the regular season.
“I’d like to play Central Cass just because I think we match up better with them,” Klein said. “But we’ll take who we can get.”
The Firebirds and Squirrels will tip off at 1 p.m. Saturday at Mayville State University.
Brodina and Brown represented Devils Lake on the all-region team, while Gourd and Hanson represented FW/M. Devils Lake athletic director Jason Wiberg was named the Region 2 AD of the Year.
