JAMESTOWN — Some of Devils Lake’s offensive issues from Thursday extended into Friday’s consolation semifinals.
Against Rugby, a defense-first team that nearly upset Thompson a day earlier, the Firebirds scored just 17 in the first half.
“Right now, we’re just a complete mess on offense,” Devils Lake head coach Justin Klein said. “We’re not moving the basketball. We’re playing way too much individual basketball. So that’s some of the problem. I don’t know if we’re scared ‘cause it’s a state tournament or what. But we’re just a mess offensively, and that’s showing.”
In their previous meeting, they’d beaten Rugby 68-40. It was back on Dec. 16.
“That was before Christmas, so a lot of things have changed,” Klein said.
Devils Lake (15-12) ignited a comeback in the third quarter and took the contest down to the final minute. But Rugby (18-9) outlasted the Firebirds 57-55 at the Jamestown Civic Center.
Devils Lake shot just 19-for-52 (36.5%) from the field. Rugby actually had a worse percentage at 16-for-46 (34.8%) — but the Panthers’ 22-for-28 performance from the free throw line put them over the top.
“I didn’t think we worked very hard on both ends of the court,” Klein said. “I thought at times, on defense, we worked hard, but I didn’t think on offense we worked very hard.”
It took more than two and a half minutes for either team to score. Rugby didn’t get any points until over three minutes in.
Tylie Brodina scored seven in the first quarter for Devils Lake, and the Firebirds had a lead as large as 11-6.
Avery Santjer scored Rugby’s first 11 points — which was enough to tie Devils Lake at 11-11 in the second quarter. Santjer hit a triple to knot it up.
No Panther besides Santjer scored until there was 3:21 left in the first half.
Rugby took over the lead late in the first half after Devils Lake reached five team fouls. The Panthers’ last four points of the first half were from free throws as they went into the locker room with a 19-17 lead. Rugby went 8-for-10 from the free throw line in the first half overall.
“Just very inconsistent with the foul calls, too,” Klein said. “I mean, we play aggressive, but you don’t know when the foul’s coming. You don’t know what’s going on. For a while there, they didn’t call anything, and then all of a sudden it was foul after foul after foul.”
Devils Lake got just one bucket from its starters in the second quarter — via Presley Brown. Emma Hofstad and Tenley Triepke combined for six off the bench as the Firebirds’ only other points in the quarter.
“We’re not running a set offense. We’ve got girls standing around,” Klein said. “And then you factor in some of the contact and things, that I think that’s gotten to our girls’ head. They’re not playing as physical as they should be.”
Another triple by Santjer — who had three in the game — extended Rugby’s lead to 30-22 in the third quarter.
This deficit seemed to wake something up in Brodina. She scored the Firebirds’ next 12 points. She hit her second triple of the game and tied it at 32-32 with a three-point play.
Eight points in the third quarter from Santjer, and six from Samantha Blessum, still had Rugby leading by three going into the fourth.
The Panthers’ first six points of the final quarter came from free throws. They led by as many as eight.
Brodina reached four fouls with 7:40 left but still played most of the period.
The duo of Brown and Triepke gave Devils Lake a late boost. Brown scored eight in the quarter, with 4-of-7 free throw shooting. Triepke added six points. The Firebirds briefly retook a 47-45 lead.
But a barrage of free throws down the stretch led Rugby to the win. The Panthers went 12-for-16 from the line in the fourth quarter. They got five successful foul shots from Santjer and four from Kenley Schmaltz.
“Making free throws, it’s a lot easier way to score than if it’s a contested shot,” Klein said.
Santjer led Rugby with 27 points. She went 10-for-12 from the stripe.
Schmaltz gave Rugby its final lead with a layup.
It was a two-possession game with 40.9 seconds to go.
Devils Lake couldn’t make up the ground despite a quick driving layup from Brodina and a last-second triple by Jenae Martinson.
Brodina led Devils Lake with 21 points. Most of her damage came in the first and third quarter. Brown added 11.
The Firebirds will conclude their season in the seventh-place game at 10 a.m. Saturday. They’ll face the loser of No. 8 seed Watford City vs. No. 5 seed Hazen.
“I want to see us show up,” Klein said. “I want to see us show up and have a little heart and desire to play, because it looked like we didn’t really care. … I just want to see a little more effort and enthusiasm out of the crew, I guess. It just kind of looks like it’s the end of the season, and there’s not much care out there.”
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