The Fertile-Beltrami Falcons and Fosston Greyhounds Girls’ Basketball teams met on Saturday evening inside of Ralph Engelstad Arena in Thief River Falls, in the Section 8A quarterfinals. Fertile-Beltrami knocked down seven first-half three-pointers and played excellent defense in the second half on their way to a 57-46 win. “I was happy with the way we played today. We took care of the basketball and put ourselves in good spots,” said Falcons Head Coach Kelly Stene. “It starts on the defensive end and we did a great job of carrying that over to the offensive end of the floor.”
FIRST HALF –
The first half was all about the three-pointer for Fertile-Beltrami, specifically, Josie Iverson, who knocked down four threes in the first seven minutes of the game. “Josie (Iverson) was in the zone early on,” said Falcons Head Coach Kelly Stene. “She was extremely efficient for us early, and that was one of the better games she has had shooting the basketball.” Fosston was also finding ways to score on the offensive end and had 5 early points from Teegan Noel, and 6 from Katelyen Vesledahl. Iverson would make her fourth three of the game to give Fertile-Beltrami a 17-13 lead with 10:00 minutes left to play in the first half, and the Falcons would get a layup from Taylor Miller, and a free throw from Jacelyn Pinske to cap off an 8-0 run giving themselves a 20-13 lead. After a quick Fosston layup, Iverson would hit her fifth three of the opening half to give the Falcons a 23-15 lead with six minutes remaining until halftime. Fosston found some momentum offensively and countered with a 6-0 run to cut the Falcons lead to 23-21 with three minutes left to play until halftime. The run was highlighted with scores from Katelyen Vesledahl, Brooklyn Ostenaa, and Kinsley Duppong. Fertile-Beltrami would give themselves a little bit of breathing room going into halftime, as they ended the first half on a 6-0 run. The run was capped off with an and-one from Kasia Wilson with just 0.4 seconds left on the clock. She would convert the free throw and the Falcons would take a 29-21 lead into the halftime break. “I was proud of all the girls today and I thought it was a very balanced effort throughout the game,” said Falcons Head Coach Kelly Stene. “Everyone who had their number called delivered and that’s what it takes to be successful.” Fertile-Beltrami was led by Josie Iverson with 15 points in the first half, and they also hit seven three-pointers as a team. Fosston was led by Katelyen Vesledahl with 8 points.
SECOND HALF –
Fertile-Beltrami’s defense entered the spotlight, and the Falcons held the Greyhounds to just 1 point in the first ten minutes of the second half. “We did a great job of making them work for everything,” said Falcons Head Coach Kelly Stene. “I also thought we rebounded the ball well during that stretch, and when you put that together you can have success.” During that span, Fertile-Beltrami got a two from Marin Roragen, a two from Kasia Wilson, a two from Kimberly Hitchen, and a three from Brooklyn Strem to build a 38-22 lead. Wilson followed up with another layup for the Falcons giving them a 40-22 lead with 8 minutes remaining in the game. Fosston finally got some offense rolling, with four straight points from Teegan Noel, and after the teams traded three-pointers, it was Fertile-Beltrami with a 43-29 advantage with six minutes remaining. The game never got back within single digits the rest of the way, and every time the Greyhounds would score, Fertile-Beltrami would find an answer. Two Greyhounds players would foul out and the Falcons would sink enough free throws and get enough stops for a 57-46 win, to set up a date with Cass Lake-Bena in the Section 8A semifinals on Monday night. “Cass Lake-Bena is a very good team,” said Falcons Head Coach Kelly Stene. “They pressure the ball hard and have a lot of good athletes so we will need to play a clean game. We did get the chance to play them earlier this season so that will help, but it comes down to us taking care of the basketball and knocking down shots.”
Fertile-Beltrami improves to 22-6 and will meet the Panthers in the Section 8A Semifinal Monday night at 7:45 p.m. The game will follow the conclusion of the other Semifinal at 6:00 p.m. featuring Warren-Alvarado-Oslo and Goodridge-Grygla. Fosston ends their season with a final record of 20-5.
| 1st | 2nd | Final | |
| Fertile-Beltrami | 29 | 28 | 57 |
| Fosston | 21 | 25 | 46 |
| For Fertile-B | Points | Rebounds | Assists/Steals |
| Josie Iverson | 19 | 5 | 1 assist/1 steal |
| Taylor Miller | 12 | 1 | 1 block/1 steal |
| Kasia Wilson | 10 | 3 | 1 assist |
| Brooklyn Strem | 6 | 2 | |
| Tori Erickson | 4 | 4 | 2 assists/2 steals |
| Marin Roragen | 3 | 5 | 3 assists/1 block |
| Kimberly Hitchen | 2 | 1 | |
| Jacelyn Pinske | 1 | 3 | 1 steal |
| For Fosston | Points | Rebounds | Assists/Steals |
| Teegan Noel | 12 | 1 | |
| Katelyen Vesledahl | 11 | 10 | 1 block |
| Brynlea Mahlen | 8 | 2 | 3 assists/3 steals |
| Kinsley Duppong | 7 | 3 | 2 assists/1 steal |
| Calli Burrack | 4 | 1 | |
| Brooklyn Ostenaa | 2 | 4 | 1 assist/1 steal |
| Tessa Manecke | 2 | 1 |
