MINOT — For the first time since 1987, and the fourth time ever, Devils Lake girls’ basketball is the champion of its North Dakota high school class.
It was a victory that moved head coach Justin Klein to tears after the game.
“They have the drive, the desire to work hard. They don’t quit,” Klein said. “They were very coachable. They were focused. And I think we really focused in, come tournament time.”
The Firebirds reached the state title game in 2019 but lost. They made it again in 2020, but the game was never played due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They reached the state tournament again in 2021 but didn’t make enough of a run. This year’s contest was the seventh state championship game the Firebirds have ever played in, and the third this century.
“I’ve been in this situation, and it’s a lot more fun when you win,” Klein said.
Now, the weight is off their backs. No. 4 Devils Lake (21-6, 7-2) completed its postseason run on Saturday with a 68-53 win over No. 3 South Prairie-Max (24-4, 7-1) at the Minot State Dome. The Firebirds were crowned state champions in front of a blackout student section and a swarm of fans and parents who got to witness one of the best basketball teams the town of Devils Lake has ever seen.
“Just our team chemistry,” Tylie Brodina said of what makes the team special. Brodina won tournament MVP for the offensive attack she brought to every game — including 25 more points on Saturday. “We’re always working together, and we’re just always pushing each other. And no matter what, we can tell somebody that they’re not doing well, but they’ll take it and they’ll just make it better.”
Players and coaches for both teams got to enter the court through a special, sparkly contraption set up in the corner of the room while the starting lineups were announced. The dim lights and rambunctious student sections set the tone for a loud, high-energy contest from the outset.
Both squads came out a little slow, and it took nearly two minutes for someone to score. But that pressure didn’t get to Brodina, who got the Firebirds on the board with a three.
“We’ve struggled scoring, and that’s what we got from her,” Klein said. “And that’s why we won.”
The Royals turned the ball over 20 times in the first half. And it greatly aided Devils Lake, which went down 4-3 but outscored South Prairie 17-3 for the rest of the first quarter. Cabryn Fritel had five straight points, the student section screaming with each basket. She was fouled on successive plays, and the Firebirds led 7-4.
A three briefly tied it at seven apiece. But Fritel nabbed a defensive rebound, and Torri Fee put Devils Lake back ahead. Fritel and Fee each scored again, and Ava Beck made a three. It was a 13-0 run to complete the quarter, putting Devils Lake into a comfortable 20-7 threshold.
“We didn’t know as much about this team as we did some of these other other opponents, so that was a little different,” Klein said. “But I thought the girls did a good job.”
Brodina made her second three of the game to begin the second quarter — she’s shown quite a penchant for starting quarters with a momentum boost.
Devils Lake’s scoring slowed down a little bit, but South Prairie got into foul trouble and let the Firebirds go on an 8-0 run, with six points via free throws. The Firebirds went into halftime with a still-comfortable 39-25 lead. Sixteen minutes away from glory.
“We’ve been playing since we were younger,” Fritel said. “And I think we just have that connection throughout the whole floor.”
Fritel led with nine points in the half and finished with 13 overall. It was a strong bounceback game for her after a slow first two games of the tournament, despite being one of the team’s best players throughout the season.
“She had a rough day yesterday — that end of the game, second half, she missed some layups, and it was frustrating for her,” Klein said. “But she bounced back really well. Had a great first half. We did talk to her a little bit about looking to score a little bit more.”
It was an uphill battle for South Prairie, which refused to back down. A three-pointer trimmed the lead to 43-31, and an and-one took it to 45-34. Fritel took another strong route to put Devils Lake back in the points column, and Brodina swished her third three of the game.
The Royals rattled off five straight to cut it to 50-40. But it was Brodina who came through again. She hit her fourth three of the game and second of the quarter.
South Prairie’s Scotti Beck responded with yet another three — the Royals’ third of the quarter.
“That’s a good team over there,” Klein said. “They were lights-out from three the last few days.”
It was 53-43 entering the fourth quarter. South Prairie put up two straight baskets, and the lead became a single-digit number for the first time since early in the first quarter.
But Brodina stayed tough yet again. She made a layup, got fouled and converted the subsequent free throw. The Royals responded with four straight free throws of their own to cut the lead to five — separated by a media timeout. The South Prairie students were getting progressively louder as their team inched progressively closer.
“The bad thing was we needed a bucket,” Klein said. “The momentum was on their side.”
And they got that bucket from who else but Brodina. It was 58-53 with just a little over three minutes left.
Claire Heilman played a late-game hero, coming through with a two-pointer and three-pointer to stretch the lead to 63-53 with 1:14 to go. Heilman’s three felt like the final hammer — the one that finally quieted the giant swarm of Royal blue.
“We had to keep our heads up, and we had to stay focused,” Fritel said.
Brodina made four free throws down the stretch, capitalizing on South Prairie’s desperation fouls. It was a 10-0 run to finish the game and crown the Firebirds champions.
They rushed the floor at the end, and unleashed the stress they undoubtedly must have been feeling during the course of that game, and throughout this incredibly competitive tournament that seemed to go down to the wire in almost every matchup.
Victory. At last. No more settling for runner-ups, tournament appearances or co-champions: The Devils Lake girls’ basketball program officially won its first state title in 37 years.
“It’s something every coach has on their bucket list,” Klein said. “It’s all about the kids. But it’s always fun when you can win.”
The Devils Lake Firebirds, after a special and hard-fought season, can go to sleep tonight knowing they’re the champions.
“I’m excited to go back to Devils Lake and see everybody cheering us on,” Brodina said.
