Photo by Noah Clooten
MINOT — This year’s run for the defending-champion Devils Lake Firebirds ended in the state semifinals.
The Firebirds (21-4) lost 74-63 to Thompson (22-5), ending their repeat hopes on Friday.
“Disappointed,” Devils Lake head coach Justin Klein said. “That’s what March is, though. You neve know when somebody’s gonna beat somebody on an off-night or a good night. And that’s what happened.”
It’ll be a state title rematch in this year’s third-place game. South Prairie-Max lost to Valley City in the first semifinal matchup of the day, meaning the Firebirds and Royals will play for third place on Saturday.
South Prairie-Max was undefeated during the regular season.
“They’re disappointed. We’re disappointed,” Klein said. “But we’ve just gotta go out and play basketball.”
Thompson shot 10-of-17 from three-point range and 53% overall. The Tommies got 26 points from Addison Sage and 22 from Kya Hurst. Devils Lake was led by Presley Brown’s 15, Claire Heilman’s 13 and Tylie Brodina’s 12, though the trio was held to four total field goals in the second half.
Sage traded go-ahead threes with Brodina in the first quarter. Sage had all seven points in a 7-5 Thompson lead to get things going.
Five straight points from Hurst stretched the Tommies’ lead to 16-11. Brodina, coming off an injury scare on her ankle on Thursday, took a breather in the middle of the first quarter.
When she returned, she did what she does best: make a three. Thompson, continuously finding ways to carve up Devils Lake’s defense and get to the rim, still went into the first quarter break with a 20-16 lead.
Thompson led by as many as seven in the second quarter after a pair of and-ones, with fouls on Mia Elsperger and Brown. But Brown had three straight baskets for Devils Lake to get it within one point.
Down 30-27, Brodina swished a game-tying three. But Thompson’s Claire Kolling hit right back with a three of her own to put Devils Lake down by three with less than three minutes left in the first half.
The Firebirds clawed back, tying it at 34-34 on a mid-range jumper by Heilman. The teams traded threes, but Hurst’s third triple of the half gave Thompson the upper hand at halftime.
Devils Lake headed to the locker room with a 42-37 deficit, the traveling hometown crowd on its side.
“Defensively, we were kind of out of sorts and out of sync,” Klein said. “And they kind of took us out of our game, especially with the press. And then we lost Hurst a few times, and Sage. But anytime a team shoots almost 60% from three, they’re hard to beat.”
Thompson opened the second half with a barrage of threes. The Tommies landed four straight triples, stretching their run to 17-0 going back to the first half to put them up 54-37.
Things spiraled out of proportion quickly for Devils Lake.
“It was like, ‘Whoa,’” Klein said. “It just really wasn’t our night.”
The first Devils Lake points came almost halfway through the quarter on a pair of free throws. And all of a sudden, with the student section keeping its energy up, the Firebirds made a run.
They scored 14 straight. Cabryn Fritel grabbed a steal and an and-one, and Brodina made her first points of the quarter with less than a minute left. After a rebound and a layup by Torri Fee, the deficit was cut to 56-53.
The Devils Lake fan section was rocking.
“That’s important, because it could have got ugly,” Klein said. “But they battled back, which this team always does. And we work hard. And I think we had the right group of girls out there to battle back, and they did that. They made it pretty entertaining for everybody.”
Devils Lake just couldn’t extend that into the fourth quarter, though. It took over two minutes to score in the final period, and Thompson got another triple from Hurst.
Seven fourth-quarter points by Heiman helped Devils Lake cut the gap as tight as seven points. It just never could get back within two possessions. Heilman and Brown fouled out, and Fee got her fourth foul. The Firebirds committed 21 personal fouls on the night compared to Thompson’s 14.
“I think everybody was like, ‘Okay, here, now we’re gonna get over the hump,’” Klein said. “But we couldn’t get over it.”
The Firebirds, with their heads held high but the disappointment fresh in their eyes, went through the handshake line with the newly victorious Thompson Tommies. It was redemption for a determined Tommies team, one that was considered the team to beat last year but got upset by South Prairie-Max in the semifinals.
This year, Devils Lake’s Region 2 foe will compete in the state title game.
Meanwhile, the two teams from last year’s championship will meet again, each trying to finish its season on a high note after taking a premature loss.
“That’s what I just told the seniors; the seniors, we’ve had the ups and downs, and we’ve had some poor years and good years — last year, obviously,” Klein said. “And we can get a third-place trophy and finish the season on a win. And also beat South Prairie, who’s a team that — it was supposed to be us, everybody thought.”
Devils Lake and South Prairie-Max face off in Saturday’s third-place game at 3 p.m., followed by Valley City and Thompson in the title game at 5 p.m.
