JAMESTOWN — In a season that started with a loss to Valley City, the Firebirds’ state title hopes ended with a loss to the same team.
The previous two state champions matched up in the first round of the Division A girls’ basketball state tournament Thursday at the Jamestown Civic Center.
The No. 3-seeded Hi-Liners (20-4) turned in a dominant defensive performance and ran away with it in the third quarter. No. 6 seed Devils Lake (15-11) — in a season with so many ups and downs — lost 64-44.
Fresh after the loss, Firebirds head coach Justin Klein was quick to remind his team that there are still two days left in this tournament.
“I think the message is to bounce back and try to win tomorrow,” Klein said. “Hopefully we can bounce back and score some points and win and get to that fifth-place game.”
Viewed as more of an underdog in this tournament than in past years, Devils Lake hung around with Valley City in the first half.
The Firebirds had an early 9-6 lead. Valley City missed a few long-range shots, while Presley Brown got to the rim a couple times and Jenae Martinson hit a three.
Valley City took over the lead behind eight first-quarter points from Katie Burchill.
The Hi-Liners went on an 8-0 run that extended into the second quarter.
At halftime, Brown had a game-high 10 points for the Firebirds. But Devils Lake went just 7-for-27 from the field in the first half, including 0-for-9 from star junior Tylie Brodina.
“I think they did a good job on [Brodina],” Klein said. “She pressed a little bit, forced some things. I think sometimes she should have let some things come to her. But they just weren’t falling. And we saw that in some other games, and then that’s not good for us when she struggles.”
The Hi-Liners’ inside defense made a difference all game. They had seven blocks in the first half and 12 overall. Valley City’s 5-foot-11 sophomore, Skye Nielson, had five of them.
Klein noted the Hi-Liners’ size and length.
“But I’d like to go back and see how many of those seven blocks, how many were body and how many weren’t,” Klein said. “I mean, I thought they let a lot go for us. They let a lot go for them. And we’re more of a finesse team; we’re not a ‘bang you down low.’ So that is a tough matchup for us. But I want to see how much contact there was, too, when I go back and watch the tape. But yeah, we couldn’t get down low, and our shots weren’t falling.”
Devils Lake stayed in the game with a solid defensive second quarter. The Hi-Liners made just four field goals in the period, with none from Burchill. Valley City was 1-for-10 from three-point range in the first half. It was still a 22-19 game at the break.
“I thought we had a really nice first half defensively,” Klein said.
And then the wheels came off.
Valley City came out of the locker room on a 17-0 run. The duo of Burchill and Maddy Frieze did the most damage, combining for 30 in the second half and 39 overall.
Burchill shot 10-for-18 from the field — all deuces. Frieze added two consecutive triples that brought Valley City’s lead into double-digit territory.
And Devils Lake struggled to find any immediate responses. The Firebirds didn’t score in the third quarter until the 3:04 mark.
By the time the Hi-Liners’ run was over, the score had ballooned to 39-19.
Burchill led Valley City with 23 points in the win. Frieze had 16. Nielson and Dacota Potratz added 11 and nine, respectively.
“If other players than Burchill are scoring, they’re pretty good,” Klein said. “They’re a good team. They’ve got a lot of talent. Their record should be better than it is, I feel, because they’re loaded. And they have everybody back, pretty much, but one player from last year in their state championship team.”
Devils Lake briefly grabbed some momentum with a 6-0 run but was ultimately outscored 21-6 in the third quarter. It was 43-25 going into the fourth.
Brodina, after just four points in the first three quarters, was able to get to the rim a few times in the final period. She finished with 12 points.
Brown was limited to two points in the second half, ending up tied with Brodina for the team high in points.
Back-to-back layups by Brodina got the lead as small as 16 in the fourth quarter.
In the end, Devils Lake just didn’t score enough in the first three quarters to keep up with Valley City for the full game.
“I was satisfied on defense, other than at the end we took gambles and took chances and had to press and gamble,” Klein said. “Offensively, we were just so bad today. … We ran some pick-and-rolls, I thought, that were pretty good, but then we couldn’t convert on them.”
So, the Firebirds won’t be returning to the state semifinals for the third consecutive year.
Their goal shifts to trying to win the consolation bracket, which would earn them fifth place at state.
On Friday at 1 p.m., they’ll contend with No. 7 seed Rugby — a team they beat 68-40 in the regular season. But Rugby gave No. 2 seed Thompson a scare in the first quarterfinal game on Thursday. It was a 39-36 win.
“Rugby does a good job on defense,” Klein said. “They’ve had a lot of low-scoring games, so they keep their opponents down. So hopefully we’re ready to go and we hit some shots tomorrow.”
Leave a Reply