VALLEY CITY, ND (NewsDakota.com) While foul trouble and hot shooting got both Hi-Liner teams off the a strong start Tuesday, Fargo Shanley had a strong finish in the girls half, and a dominant finish in the boys haf to sweep a double-header.
The Deacon girls rallied from a Hi-Liner 14-point first half lead for a 55-49 win at the Hi-Liner Activities Center. Shanley then scored 55 second-half points to turn a one-point halftime edge into a 26-point win in boys play.
The girls built up a 23-9 first-half lead on a combination of hot shooting and Shanley foul trouble. Drew Potratz hit three first-half threes, and Greta Goven provided a burst off the bench with a six point stanza.
Shanley hurt their own cause when their leading scorer, Mesiku Hakim, was inexplicably left in the game after picking up her third foul with 8:58 left of the half. She picked up her fourth on the ensuing inbounds pass, and was lost till late in the second half.
Deacon Maggie Shorma attempted to pick up the slack, drilling three first-half treys to cut Valley City’s lead to 24-19. Potratz hit her third three, and Tesa Olson added two of her own. Carly Goven with two buckets late built the lead back to 12 at 33-21 at the break.
The key difference in the second half was the absence of Hi-Liner outside shooting. Valley City did not score from beyond the arc, and went with just three points for the first nine minutes of the second half. Meanwhile, four Deacons scored their first points of the game in the second half, including five three-point shots.
Shanley started the half with an 18-3 run to take the lead back 39-36, and the slowly built up an eventual eight-point edge, settling for the six-point win.
Carly Goven led the Hi-Liners with 12, with Greta Goven playing a fantastic game, adding 10 off the bench and forcing a handful of turnovers to garner Ivy Real Estate Group Player of the Game honors for the sophomore.
In boys play, Zach Sykora rolled out to a blistering start for the Hi-Liners, with five field goals, including three from beyond, scoring 15 of the first 17 Hi-Liner points. Foul trouble for Shanley leading scorer Conner Kraft left him scoreless at the break, but six players scoring between four and seven a piece kept Shanley with a one-point edge, 36-35, at half.
The Deacons would blow open a one-point game at the break with 28 points in the first eight minutes of the second half to take a 64-47 edge with 10 minutes to go. They would record a 55-point second half, with 35 between Kraft and Vuciri Hakim. Hakim finished with 26 for the Deacons, and Kraft ended with 15, all second-half scores.
Sykora lead four Hi-Liners in double figures with 19. Calahan Burchill added 13, all after the break. Carson Eggert and Carver Peterson knocked in 10, with Peterson winning Ivy Real Estate Group Player of the Game honors.
Both the Hi-Liner boys and girls continue their season with a date with Grand Forks Central Tuesday, January 17th.