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(NewsDakota.com) – The Central Cass girls basketball team is heading back to the State Tournament for the third time in four years.

Central Cass built an 11-point halftime lead and hung on in the second half to beat Maple Valley 54-47 Thursday in the Region 1 championship at the Fargo Civic Center.

Region 1 Senior Athlete of the Year Hannah Breske poured in 15 second-half points and 23 in the game to lead the Squirrels back to State, where they finished second in both 2010 and 2011.

Rylee Nudell scored 21 and Megan Kasowski had 10 points for the feisty Raiders, who would not go away after falling behind 24-10 in the first half. Maple Valley scored five straight points to close the third quarter, fighting back to within 39-36, but they could get no closer in the fourth.

The Raiders finish the year with a 20-5 record, and three of those losses came against Central Cass. Maple Valley head coach Jeff Miller was named Region 1 Coach of the Year.

The Squirrels improve to 22-3 and will face Grant County in the State Tournament quarterfinals at 2:45 p.m. Thursday in the Fargodome.

Class B Girls Basketball State Tournament
Thursday, March 21 – Fargodome
1 p.m.: Napoleon vs. Beach
2:45 p.m.: Central Cass vs. Grant County
6:30 p.m.: Thompson vs. New Town
8:15 p.m.: Benson County vs. Bishop Ryan