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N.D (NewsDakota.com) In their first state tournament game since 2005 the Hi-Liner girls basketball team may have had their best showing of the season in a 60-50 loss to the West’s top Seed Bismarck High. 

The Demons entered play on Thursday afternoon with just two losses on the year, but the Hi-Liners failed to be intimidated. Going punch for punch with the WDA heavyweight in the first half, Valley City found themselves trailing by just six points headed into the final period of play. 

In the second half, it was the Hi-Liners who got the ball rolling starting with the first four points of the period. In response, the Demons turned to senior Keissha Engelhardt who helped keep the Hi-Liners at bay with a 12 point second half. The Hi-Liners would battle all the way to the end, but would not be able to complete the comeback. 

Dierra Diegel led the Hi-Liners with 18 points, but some of the best play by Valley City was done under the basket by sophomore forward Brenna Dieterle. The youngest Hi-liner would finish the night with 9 points and four rebounds

Bismarck’s Engelhardt would end the day with a game high 20 points. McKenzie Kiefer and Courtney Trolliey would also finish the night for the Demons in double digits scoring 14 and 13 points respectively. 

The loss drops Valley City to 15-8 on the year. They will play tomorrow afternoon at 4:00pm. You can hear the game on 1490 KOVC.