THE FERGUS FALLS OTTERS TOOK ON THE MINNEAPOLIS DeLaSALLE ISLANDERS IN A GIRLS STATE SEMIFINAL STATE BASKETBALL GAME

The Otters from Fergus Falls who came into the game with a record of 29-1 took on the Islanders of Minneapolis DeLaSalle who had a record 26-3 going into the game.

Both of these teams looked very focused going into the game. The head coaches were also very focused. Faith Patterson for DeLaSalle had music playing on an iopd before the game to help her concentration on the game.

Fergus Falls passed the ball around the three-point line as the DeLaSalle defense looked to push them out side of the three-point line.

Fergus Falls hit shots early and they got an early 10-4 lead. That was the score with 13:56 left in regulation at the first media timeout.

DeLaSalle went to a trapping defense after the timeout. They also picked up in a full court man-to-man defense. They wanted to make it hard on the Otters to hit shots.

At the media timeout the score was Fergus Falls 15 and DeLaSalle 7.

DeLaSalle's Tyseanna Johnson was all over the floor she was not afraid to shoot the ball from inside the paint. The Islanders managed to close the gap through by getting defensive stops and making their shots.

Fergus Falls passed the ball around the three-point line. They got everyone involved in the offense early. Fergus Falls dribbled around the DeLaSalle defenders as they were able to get easy baskets in the paint.

There was a media timeout with 6:52 left in the first half. The score was Fergus Falls 19 and DeLaSalle 15.

Both teams were strong with the basketball. Neither team gave up easy shots. Both teams dove on the floor after loose balls and they both went hard after rebounds on both ends of the floor.

The game was close throughout the first half.

At the media timeout with 3:16 left in the first half the score was Fergus Falls 22 and DeLaSalle 20.

The score went back and forth late in the first half and a defensive battle where both of the teams didn't crack late in the first half. In a fast pace game that went back and forth the score at halftime was DeLaSalle 28 and Fergus Falls 25.

As the second half got underway both teams kept their composure. DeLaSalle came out on fire to start the second half. They were able to get a few baskets off of turnovers.

At the first media timeout of the second half the score was DeLaSalle 34 and Fergus Falls 30.

After the timeout DeLaSalle went to a full court press. They were able to confuse Fergus Falls on offense.

Fergus Falls called a timeout with 12:19 left in the second half. The score was DeLaSalle 38 and Fergus Falls 33.

DeLaSalle was able to get some easy baskets in transition. They held the ball after the timeout and looked to burn time off of the clock. Fergus Falls went to man-to-man defense.

DeLaSalle called timeout with 11:01 left in regulation. The score was DeLaSalle 43 and Fergus Falls 33.

Fergus Falls looked to trap the ball as soon as DeLaSalle got it over the half court line. That didn't seem to phase DeLaSalle. The guards were very strong with running their offensive sets.

Johnson for DeLaSalle continued to be a force. She was all over the floor on the offensive end. She was not afraid to shoot the ball and she hit shots that she put up.

Fergus Falls called a 30 second timeout with 6:55 left in regulation. The score was DeLaSalle 47 and Fergus Falls 38.

It was a very physical game. The medical staff for both teams had their work out in for them throughout the game. No one was seriously hurt or injured during the game.

Fergus Falls tried to make a comeback in the end but DeLaSalle was able to hold off Fergus Falls down the stretch. Fergus Falls did however try to make a run late in the contest in the end though DeLaSalle came away with the 59-51 victory over Fergus Falls.

The leading scorers for Fergus Falls were Mariah Monke with 13 points and Sydney Schultz with 12 points. Fergus Falls shot 19-46 from the field that included going 2-9 from behind the three-point line. They shot 11-17 from the free-throw line. They were able to bring down a total of 34 rebounds including 25 on the defensive end. Their bench chipped in with 6 points.

The leading scorers for DeLaSalle were Tyseanna Johnson with 16 points, Mariah Adanene with 14 points and Mia Loyd with 12 points. DeLaSalle shot 22-53 from the field that included going 1-11 from behind the three-point line. They shot 14-20 from the free-throw line. They were able to bring down a total of 30 rebounds 20 of them on the defensive end. There bench chipped in with 14 points.