Devils Lake girls’ basketball rose back up to the No. 4 spot in Monday’s polls, while the boys’ team stayed in the No. 2 spot in Division A. Meanwhile, North Star boys’ basketball advanced to No. 1 in Division B.
The Firebird girls went 3-0 since the last polls were released, including a 20-point win over Four Winds/Minnewaukan and a comeback victory over Wahpeton. Devils Lake is 14-5 overall, 6-2 in region play, with only one game left in the regular season.
The Firebirds have secured the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Region 2 tournament. They’ll play the No. 5 seed, Grafton, in Thursday’s regular season finale.
Thompson, of course, stayed at No. 1 with its 19-0 record and 100% of the first-place votes. Nedrose switched places with Devils Lake after going 1-1 in the last week. Bottineau and South Prairie-Max are ranked No. 2 and 3, respectively.
The Firebird boys have been stuck at No. 2 for a while, despite winning every game they’ve played since Dec. 21. They squeezed out a thriller of a win over No. 3 FW/M last Tuesday, 70-69. They also pulled out a tough 72-64 win over Central Cass. They’ve now won 13 in a row, bringing their overall record to 16-1 and region record to 5-1.
The Indians are still ranked No. 3, and Grafton is still ranked No. 4. Both teams have lost close battles with Devils Lake this year. Grafton will get a chance at redemption when it faces Devils Lake on Tuesday.
Kindred, with a perfect 18-0 record, is the No. 1 team in Division A. Devils Lake did receive two of the 15 first-place votes, however.
Then in Division B, the North Star boys went up to No. 1 after spending much of the season in the No. 2 spot and even going down to No. 3 just a couple weeks ago.
The Bearcats won their lone game of the week, 71-45, but the real kicker was Bowman County losing to No. 2 Glen Ullin/Hebron, 62-58. The Bulldogs bounced back with a win over Williston Trinity Christian, but it was enough for the voters to drop them from No. 1 to No. 4. It was their first loss of the season.
North Star received seven of the 15 first-place votes. No. 3 Bishop Ryan and Bowman County each received three, while Glen Ullin/Hebron received two. There are no undefeated teams left in Division B.
There was a reversal on the girls’ side too, with May-Port-C-G overtaking Langdon Area/Edmore/Munich for the No. 1 spot. During the course of the last two weeks, May-Port-C-G has suffered its first two losses of the season. LA/E/M, meanwhile, has won 13 in a row.
The No. 1 Cardinals received nine first-place votes, while the No. 2 Patriots received five. The one remaining first-place vote went to No. 3 Bowman County.
The girls’ basketball regular season in Division A and B will wrap up this week. Then it’s playoff time.
