DEVILS LAKE — Last year when Devils Lake and Thompson met, the Tommies briefly broke the Firebirds’ hearts.
It was a Thompson buzzer beater that handed Devils Lake a loss in the region tournament. And it kept an undefeated season alive at the time for the Tommies, who beat Devils Lake three separate times. The Firebirds couldn’t quite get over the hump against Thompson last year.
But, of course, Devils Lake proved to be the last team standing at the end, beating South Prairie-Max after the Royals eliminated Thompson in the state semifinal.
And on Friday, Devils Lake left little doubt over which Region 2 squad was better this year. To kick off the second boys-and-girls doubleheader of the week, the No. 2 Firebirds (12-1, 5-0) took down the No. 5 Tommies (9-4, 2-3) by a score of 69-52 at the Devils Lake Sports Center.
The scoring was spread out: Tylie Brodina had 15, Presley Brown had 14 and Torri Fee had nine. Cabryn Fritel and Jolie Martinson each scored eight.
“I think we got good minutes off the bench,” Devils Lake head coach Justin Klein said. “I thought the kids worked hard. I thought we were a lot more in control tonight, and it wasn’t just so helter-skelter.”
For the full story, check out the Jan. 30 Devils Lake Journal print edition.