Hi-Liner girls pick up win, boys fall on the road
Girls: Valley City 77, Devils Lake 56
Valley City took another step towards getting a home game in the play-in round of the east region tournament with a 77-56 win over Devils Lake at the Hi-Liner Activity Center.
Valley City started out strong and never let up on the way to its second win in a row. After two quick baskets by the Hi-liners to take a 4-0 lead 50 seconds into the game. Devils Lake would get a three-pointer by a Claire Heilman with 16:53 to go to make it 4-3. That would be as close as Devils Lake would be the rest of the game.
The Hi-Liners would counter that three with a a long three-pointer by Samantha Hatcher with 16:07 to go. Brooke Eggermont would score inside 35 seconds later to make it 9-6. Torri Fee would make a threepointer for the Firebirds with 15:08 remaining to make it 9-6. That’s when Valley City would take control of the game.
The Hi-Liners would go on a 12-0 to take a 21-6 lead. The run was started by Tesa Olson’s drive through the lane and two Devils Lake defenders to make it 11-6 with 14:30 to go. The run ended four minutes later when Faith Peterson hit a three-pointer from the right wing with 10:30 remaining to give the Hi-Liners the 15 point lead. Fee would get the Firebirds back on the scoreboard with a baseline drive and a scoop shot that rolled around the rim and fell through. It was the first points and for Devils Lake in 5:13.
The Firebirds would get the lead under ten points on two occasions late in the first half. Cabryn Fritel had a steal and a layup to make it 29-20 with 5:22 to go in the half. Then Fritel would score inside to make it 33-24 with 4:27 remaining in the half. But Valley City would regain that 15 point lead by closing out the half on a 8-2 run. They would take a brief 17 point lead on Hatcher’s tear drop in the lane with 38 seconds remaining, then Brooke Eggermont hit one of two free throws with 6.5 seconds remaining to make it 41-24. Devils Lake would get a lay up off a loose ball by Presely Brown as the horn sounded to make it 41-26
at the break.
Valley City would start the second half on an 8-2 run to take a 4928 lead. A Tesa Olson layup would give the HiLiners the 21 point lead with 14:55 remaining in the half. After a timeout by Devils Lake and a basket by Ava Beck, the Hi-Liners would up that lead to 52-30 on a threepointer by Drew Potratz with 13:35 to go in the half.
The lead would reach 23 points when Eggermont scored inside with 8:23 to go to make it 6340.
The lead would go back and forth between 17 and 23 points the rest of the game. Valley City’s last field came on an inside bucket by Eggermont with 3:00 to go to make it 75-54. They would get an Olson free throw with 2:34 to go to make it 76-54. Then Rylyn Johnson would score her first varsity points with a free throw with 32.2 seconds remaining.
The Hi-Liners had four players in double figures led by Tesa Olson with 18. She would add four rebounds and three assists. Samantha Hatcher had 17 points, four rebounds and a team high seven assists. Brooke Eggermont had 14 points and a team high eight rebounds. Carly Goven would chip in twelve points and seven rebounds. Faith Peterson had six points, Greta Goven had four points, Drew Potratz had three, Hadley Thoreson had two and Rylyn Johnson had one.
Drew Potratz also had five assists as Valley City would have 23 assists as a team on 32 field goals.
Valley City improves to 4-10 in the EDC and 4-9 overall. The Hiliners moved into ninth place in the EDC standings, just one point behind eighth pace West Fargo Horace. The top four teams in the region automatically advance to the East Region tournament. Places five through twelve have to play-in. Seeds five, six, seven and eight would host the play-in games.
The Hi-Liners are at Wahpeton on Tuesday then at West Fargo Friday. The nextx home game for Valley City is February 10th when Fargo south comes to the Hi-Liner Activity Center.
The Devils Lake CSquad defeated Valley City 53-39. Dacota Potratz led Valley City with nine points. Hadley Thoreson had seven, all in the first half. Madison Anderson scored six, all in the first half. Kinlee Sufficool had five points. Kailee Nielson and Kadie Kocka had four each. Georgia Zaun added two and Greta Goven had a free throw.
Boys: Devils Lake 87, Valley City 65
Wylee Delorme hit a three-pointer from the top of the key to break a 2-2 tie and gave Devils Lake a 5-2 lead, a lead they would not lose the rest of the game.
Valley City tied the game at two, when Talon Larson picked up a loose ball and laid it in with 17:29 to go in the first half. But Delorme’s three started an 11-0 run for the Firebirds which was part of a 18-4 run to start the game.
The Hi-Liners would get the lead to six with an 8-0 run. Carson’s Eggert’s three-pointer from the corner would make it 18-12 with 10:22 to go in the half.
The lead for Devils
Lake would stay between three and eleven points the rest of the first half.
The Hi-Liners would get the lead down to three at 38-35 when Zach Sykora hit a threepointer with 1:58 to go in the half. But Devils Lake would end the half on an 8-0 run to retake an eleven point lead at 46-35 at the break.
Valley City would come out strong in the second half going a 10-2 run to start the half to get the lead back to three 48-45. Arie Bratrud’s reverse layup cut the lead to three with 15:36 to go in the half. Valley City would get the lead down to three on two ore occasions. A three-pointer by Carver Pederson would make it 51-48 with 15:02 to go in the half. Aiden Jacobson’s three-pointer made it 56-53 with 12:49 to go. That would be the Hi-Liner last points until midway through the second half.
Valley City would go on a dry spell over the next four minutes. In that time, Devils Lake would go on an 8-0 run to take a 64-53 lead with 10:36 to play in the half. A three-point play by Gage Meyer would cap the run for the Firebirds.
An inside basket by Zach Sykora would end the drought for Valley City. Sykora had 15 points in the first half, but was held to just three points in the second half.
The Hi-Liners would keep things close for the most part. A basket by Calahan Burchill made it 68-59 with. 7:16 to go. But Devils Lake would put the game away with a 10-0 run to open up a 78-59 lead. The Hi-Liners would go over three minutes without scor*ing.
Arie Bratrud’s basket with 4:08 remaining in the game ended that scoring lull for the HiLiners.
Valley City would get only one more field goal over the final four minutes and came from Calahan Burchill with 2:50 remaining in the game. Will Eggert capped the scoring for Valley City with two free throws with 26.7 seconds to go.
Zach Sykora led the Hi-Liners with 18 points. Aiden Jacobson had twelve. Talon Larson and Carver Pederson each had eight. Calahan Burchill had six, Carson Eggert scored five. Arie Bratrud added four While Will Eggert and Jack Dieterle chipped on two each.
Valley City falls to 0-15 in the Eastern Dakota Conference and 1-13 overall.
The Hi-Liners are back in action on Tuesday when they host Wahpeton before heading to West Fargo to take on the Packers on Friday.
Devils Lake would win the Junior Varsity game by a final of 6052.