DEVILS LAKE — The way a team starts a game can prove to be monumental.
No. 3 Devils Lake girls’ basketball has often had to grind lately. Even in its 78-34 thumping of Four Winds/Minnewaukan, it trailed at the end of the first quarter. The Firebirds’ otherwise strong season has also been tainted by losses to Carrington, Kindred and Valley City.
But on Friday, there was little stress. No second or third-quarter comebacks needed. No dramatics.
The Firebirds (16-3, 7-1) beat Wahpeton (9-11, 5-7) by a score of 67-47 at home on Friday. They led 24-15 after the first quarter and never looked back.
“I think we did a much better job,” said Devils Lake head coach Justin Klein, who locked down his 200th career win as a coach. “We were ready to play. I thought our execution was better. Kind of took them out of their game right away with the press. And I thought we did a nice job hitting some shots early, which gave us some momentum.”
Sophomore Tylie Brodina led the team with 20 points. But she had support, too — Presley Brown scored 12, Torri Fee had 10 and Cabryn Fritel had seven. Claire Heilman and Mia Elsperger each put up six off the bench.
“We can put in a lot of people,” Brodina said. “So I think it just keeps us all fresh and keeps us going.”
The first 1:36 of the game was scoreless. But the teams traded threes, with Fritel tying it up for Devils Lake. Brodina made a steal and a bucket to give the Firebirds a 9-5 lead. Wahpeton responded with back-to-back buckets from Scout Woods.
After the 9-9 tie, Devils Lake rode forward with a 9-0 run. Brodina made a pair of threes and nine points overall in the quarter, but it wasn’t a one-woman show. Brodina also had a nice pass to Brown, who scored six first-quarter points.
Devils Lake led 24-15 at the end of the period. Heilman had four points off the bench, including a reverse layup.
“It’s nice when you don’t have to play from behind,” Klein said. “You fly around and you get a steal — it really takes the other team out of their game. And I think we’ve had some issues on that end, with scoring points. So that was nice to get some points up there.”
The Firebirds’ scoring slowed in the second quarter. But they still had seven players in the scoring column thanks to their deep bench. Brodina only had two points, both via free throws. But Heilman, Kendra Eckes and Elsperger all contributed off the bench.
Wahpeton fans were vocal about the foul and travel calls, or lack thereof. Shouts of “That’s terrible,” “That’s awful,” etc. were echoed from behind the scorer’s table. Fans often shouted sentiments like “That’s a foul” repeatedly while play was active.
At 5:19 in the second quarter, the Huskies finally scored their first points of the period. It was Woods, who also picked up a foul, which the fans sarcastically cheered the refs for calling.
Until just a few seconds left in the half, all six of Wahpeton’s second-quarter points were from Woods. That was until seventh-grade starter Piper Nelson put a bucket in. Devils Lake’s lead was still a comfortable 39-23 at the half.
Amidst more disgruntled chatter, one Wahpeton fan jeered, “You’re gonna get what you pay for. You get your ticket price.”
Brodina made three buckets in the third quarter, and Brown made two, as Devils Lake ran its lead up into the 20s. Fee had six points in the quarter, with four free throws and her first field goal of the game. Overall, she was 6-of-6 from the line.
In the fourth quarter, fans were unhappy about a deflection being called off of a Wahpeton player. Not only were the fans disgruntled, with proclamations of “It’s comical” and “It’s physics,” but one of the refs even briefly got nose-to-nose with a frustrated Brian Watson, the Huskies’ head coach.
Brodina hit a three in the final period to reach 20 points. It was the best game in weeks for the Firebirds’ leading scorer.
“Just trying to get the open looks to my teammates,” Brodina said. “And just try to finish at the rim, has probably been the biggest thing.”
Fee, Eckes, Elsperger and Emma Hofstad each added a field goal in the fourth quarter as Devils Lake won by 20.
“Come tournament time, if they take Tylie away, we’ve got somebody else who’s gonna score,” Klein said. “Or if Torri gets hot, now all of a sudden they’ve gotta decide what they’re gonna do with her, or do something different, change their defense. So it might open up somebody else. So it’s really important.”
It was the third-to-last game of the regular season for the Firebirds. The Region 2 tournament begins Feb. 24 in Mayville.
“We’re just gonna try to keep going from here, and try to keep a clear mind ‘til regionals,” Brodina said. “Just keep playing hard every game.”
