The No. 4 Devils Lake girls’ basketball continued conference play with another win Tuesday evening.
On the road against the Grafton Spoilers (4-6, 1-3), the Firebirds (9-3, 3-1) won handily by a score of 64-44. They overcame a relatively slow start to the first quarter with a rhythm that never ceased, giving Devils Lake its fourth straight win ahead of a vital matchup against the No. 1 team in Division A, Thompson.
The Firebirds struggled to shoot in the opening minutes, letting Grafton go on a 6-0 run to take an early 6-2 lead.
They hung in there, though, helped by baskets from Cabryn Fritel and Torri Fee. Devils Lake’s strategy seemed to be to charge in towards the basket and calmly swoop in layups, rather than going for the big shot. Tylie Brodina’s first points of the day got the Firebirds within a 10-8 deficit, and another layup by Fee kept it a two-point margin at 12-10.
Fee’s points sparked what ended up being a 9-0 run for Devils Lake. The Firebirds retained strong defense at the basket and didn’t let the Spoilers sneak in shots like they were earlier in the game. Anna Shock did a nice job muscling her way through pressure to make a shot, which was a theme on Tuesday — persistence and athleticism, as opposed to flashy three-pointers or long field goals.
Grafton didn’t score for the final 2:42 of the first quarter. Devils Lake led 17-12 despite trailing for the majority of regulation thus far.
From there, it was Devils Lake’s game. After an opening basket by Grafton in the second quarter that ended its scoreless drought, the Firebirds went on an 8-0 run. Fritel and Brodina both managed to make wide-open layups, as Devils Lake became too much for Grafton’s defense to handle.
The Firebirds outscored the Spoilers 21-8 in the second quarter, taking a comfortable 38-20 lead into halftime.
Grafton nearly saw a glimmer of hope early in the third quarter, getting quick back-to-back threes as part of an 8-0 run that cut Devils Lake’s lead to 40-28. But a field goal by Brodina and a three by Fee silenced any prospect of a comeback.
The Firebirds steadily outpaced the Spoilers for the rest of the game and secured the 20-point victory.
This was a win Devils Lake needed, especially with its toughest opponent of the season coming up. No. 1 Thompson is a perfect 12-0, and 4-0 in Division A, Region 2. The Firebirds should feel comfortable with their No. 4 state ranking, given that they’ve won their last four games — all of which have been double-digit wins — but how they fare against Thompson will be a huge test in deciding the fate of their season.
If they can find a way to upset the undefeated Tommies, they could be looking at a whole lot more than just a No. 4 ranking.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Thompson High School on Friday.
Joseph “Mojo” Hill is a reporter covering Lake Region sports for the Devils Lake Journal. Contact him on Twitter @mojohill22 or at jhill@devilslakejournal.com for any tips, questions or story ideas.
