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N.D (NewsDakota.com) For the first time since 2005, the Hi-Liners girls basketball team earned a trip to the state tournament by defeating Wahpeton 57-50 in the Eastern Dakota Conference state qualifier.
The victory means that Valley City will advance to the State tournament in Minot on March 13th. They will open play against the one seed from the Western conference, either Bismarck High or Bismarck Century.
The Hi-Liners opened play on defense, but came up with a stop that would quickly lead to the first two points of the game being scored by Dierra Diegel. The Hi-Liners would hold the lead through the first but would not be able to pull away by much due to the Huskies duo of Tylee Irwin and Lachelle Bumgarner, who finished the first half with 9 points apiece.
When the first half came to an end, Valley City had just three scorers Diegel who finished the opening period with 18 points, Jessica Denholm who tallied 7 points, and Brenna Dieterle who had two points.
In the second half, the Hi-Liners would find scoring from a new source. Clarissa Olson went off on the Huskies scoring all 12 of her points late in the game. With the lead late, Valley City would have to thwart off one last attack from the Huskies. Wahpeton’s Lachelle Bumgarner hit back-to-back threes making it just a two possession game with just over three minutes remaining. As the minutes ticked away, Valley City would pull away one last time with strong free throw shooting.
The Hi-Liners were led on the score sheet by Dierra Diegel who scored a game high 28 points. Olson was the only other to finish in double digits.
Baumgarner led the way for the Huskies with 22 points in the game, Irwin and Amber Lingen who finished the night with 13 and 11 points respectively.
With the win, the Hi-Liners clinched the fourth seed in the EDC which means they will play against the WDA’s top seed on Thursday at 1pm. That game can be heard Thursday afternoon on 1490 KOVC.