Bruins win opener, advance to semi's

Fargo South got off to a hot shooting start from the 3 point line to build a big lead in the first half and then withstood a second half comeback attempt by the Grand Forks Central Knights and posted a 66-57 win in the opening round of the East Region tournament. Early on the Bruins could not miss from downtown. Meghan Roehrich hit her first 5 three pointers, a number from well behind the three point line, as South began to build their lead. Meghan was joined in the barrage by Alley Fisher, who also nailed a pair of three pointers in the opening half. South built their biggest lead of the half at 37-20 on a Raquel Wellentin driving basket, but the Knights wouldn't go away. A Central score was answered by a coast to coast driving basket by Siri Burck, but then a three pointer by Rebecca Fee with just 5 seconds left before halftime gave the Bruins a 39-25 lead at the break. However, the Knights came out on fire in the second half. Courtney Hammer hit 3 three pointers in the opening minutes and the Knights switched up their defenses to a triangle and two to try and take away the scoring of Roehrich and Fisher. Just 4 minutes into the second half, the Knights had cut the lead to just 42-40. After some initial struggles finding the gaps, the Bruins were able to get some clean looks, and senior Siri Burck stepped up her scoring to compensate for the Central defensive efforts. Still, the game was close throughout the half though, and a Caitlin Farroh hoop at the ten minute mark made it a 45-44 game. But the experience of the Bruins had South making the key plays as the game wound down. Alley Fisher and Siri Burck teamed up for a pair of steals up top on the defensive end that led to a couple of easy baskets, and Siri also hit an important three pointer late in the game to help maintain a double digit lead late. Siri and Meghan hit 5 of 6 freethrows down the strech and the Bruins were able to grab some big rebounds in the closing minutes, and came away with the hard fought win. Meghan Roehrich led the Bruins with 26 points, while Siri Burck added 17 and Alley Fisher 13. Raquel Wellentin had a huge night on the boards, grabbing a team high 14 rebounds. The win moves South to 17-3 on the season. South will take on Shanley in the 6:30 game Friday night.

play by play of the game
complete boxscore

Boxscore:
Fargo South: Roehrich 6 9-11 26, Burck 6 3-3 17, Fisher 4 3-4 13, Wellentin 2 1-4 5, Moffett 0 1-2 1, Felch 2 0-0 4; Totals 20 17-24 66, Three point goals: Roehirch 5, Fisher 2, Burck 2

GF Central: Fee 5 2-2 14, Lindsay 1 0-0 2, Farroh 11 4-5 26, Johnson 1 0-0 2, C. Hammer 3 0-0 9, T. Hammer 1 0-0 2; Totals: 23 6-7 57, Three point goals: Hammer 3, Fee 2

Fouled out: Lindsay; Total Fouls: South 8, GFC 17; Rebounds: South 35(Burck 14), GFC 37(Farroh 15); Assists: South 25(Burck, Fisher 5), GFC 17(Erickson 8), Steals: South 12(Fisher 6), GFC 9(Farroh 4); Turnovers: South 15, GFC 28