The first state tournament game of the new three-class era will go down in history as one of the best to ever grace the floor of the Minot State Dome, as Valley City upsets #2 Bottineau to advance to the state semi-finals.
The largest lead of the day would only be five points as Bottineau raced out to an early advantage behind a stellar first-quarter effort from both Erin Guariglia and Hallie Nero. The Hi-Liners would rally late in the quarter with a complete team effort as Katie Burchill, Greta Goven, Tesa Olson, and Maddie Anderson all contributed to the score sheet. After the dust settled in what turned out to be an enthralling 1st quarter of play, Bottineau held a slim 19-17 lead.
The start of the second would see another surge by Nero, who would go into the half leading all Bottineau scorers with ten points. Valley City would again use the formula team basketball and defense as four players scored in the quarter for the Hi-Liners, with the defense holding the Stars to only 14 points in the quarter. The combination of team offense and defense would stake Valley City to a 34-30 lead with only seconds to play in the quarter, but a near half-court three by Bottineau’s Kylie Simpson cut the lead to 34-33 as the halftime buzzer sounded.
The third quarter would be a near replay of the play-in game the Hi-Liners found themselves in last week against the Carrington Cardinals, as Bottineau would mount various runs only for Valley City to respond in kind. The third would again feature the unlikely heroics of Nero, who poured in six more points in the quarter as the Stars fought to keep the game within reach. The third, however, would belong to Tesa Olson, who would pour in ten points for the frame as Valley City once again found themselves up by four with seconds to play in the quarter. However, Bottineau would be the beneficiary of more unlikely heroics, as bench guard Logan Simpson knocked down a three as time expired to cut the Valley City lead to 51-50 heading into the fourth quarter.
After remaining dormant for much of the ballgame, Bottineau’s star guard Kyle Simpson would finally erupt as she nearly singlehandedly carried her team to a late four-point lead with just under two minutes to play, for Valley City points did not come cheap as they struggled to make shots from the floor. However, the Hi-Liners would find relief at the charity stripe as they shot 80% from the line in the second half. The foul shooting would allow Valley City to stay in the game as they tried to mount a desperate charge in the final two minutes.
More Valley City free throws would cut the Bottineau lead down to 60-61 with under a minute to play. Dacota Potratz, who struggled for parts of the game, would have her one shining moment in the game’s late stages as a nifty post move set up a banked-in hook shot that gave the Hi-Liners the 62-61 lead. After an entire quarter of cool, calm, and collected guard play, the Stars would fumble the ball at the wrong time after a bobbled pass turned into a scramble for the ball, which would wind up in the arms of Tesa Olson, who was promptly fouled.
Two clutch free throws from the all-state nominee would give Valley City a 64-61 lead and would once again set up Bottineau for another potential buzzer-beating three-pointer. Fortunately for the Hi-Liners, a late travel by the Stars with two seconds to go would allow Valley City to inbound the ball and run out the clock as the Hi-Liners polished off the improbable 64-61 first round upset.
Coach Jimmy Howard, after the game, lauded the entire team’s effort, saying that the whole team deserved recognition for the way they played. The Hi-Liners will play at 6:00 pm tomorrow against Devils Lake on 1490AM/96.3FM KOVC.
Ivy Real Estate Group Players of the Game: The Team