The Sacred Heart Eagle Girls Basketball team heavily relied on the free throw line, and it paid off, as they hit 20 free throws en route to a 56-44 win over the Fertile-Beltrami Falcons in a Section 8A First Round matchup played at UMC.
FIRST HALF –
As the first half began, the Eagles executed a fast break off the opening tip to go up 2-0 only 4 seconds into the game. The Falcons were not deterred, however, and began to turn up the intensity on defense, stealing the ball at a plentiful rate and putting the Eagles into foul trouble. At 5-5, the Falcons went on their best run of the half, as 3-pointers by Madison Stueness and Indigo Oistad propelled a 12-3 run to put the Falcons up 17-8. But, as the half rolled on into the later stages, the Eagles turned things around very effectively. Kate Bernhoft hit a 3-pointer to spark the run, and the defense clamped down on the Falcons, as Sacred Heart went on a 16-3 run in response to the Falcons a 24-20 lead with 2:12 to go. However, once again, the Falcons were not deterred, and they prevented the Eagles from scoring for the rest of the half, and a Tessa Opdahl free throw gave the Falcons a 25-24 lead as the game reached halftime.
SECOND HALF –
As the second half started, Fertile-Beltrami got the ball first and put in a quick bucket with Mya Erickson to go up 3. However, that would be one of the last times that Erickson’s name, as well as Stueness’ name, would be mentioned. Fouls became a significant issue for the Falcons in the half, and the Eagles used free throws to keep them in the game when they weren’t making shots. After Macy Petry hit a putback layup for the Falcons to go up 38-37, the Eagles began to pound the ball inside, and Lexi Lawrence, who was only held to 5 points in the first half, scored 14 in the second to lead all scorers. At 45-40 Eagles, Leah Sundby hit a circus shot to put the Eagles up 7, and that would signal the beginning of the end for the Falcons. Out of the 32 points that the Eagles scored in the half, 17 of them came from the foul line, and that allowed them to pull away to a 56-44 victory.
Sacred Heart improves to 21-6 and will play Cass Lake-Bena on Saturday in the Section 8A quarterfinals. Fertile-Beltrami’s season ends at 12-14.
| 1st | 2nd | Final | |
| Sacred Heart | 24 | 32 | 56 |
| Fertile-Beltrami | 25 | 19 | 44 |
| For Sacred Heart | Points |
| Lexi Lawrence | 19 |
| Lydia Riskey | 13 |
| Finley Horken | 9 |
| Leah Sundby | 9 |
| Kate Bernhoft | 5 |
| Izzy Cwikla | 1 |
| For Fertile-Beltrami | Points |
| Madison Stueness | 9 |
| Bailey Iverson | 8 |
| Tessa Opdahl | 6 |
| Katrina Hitchen | 6 |
| Mya Erickson | 6 |
| Indigo Oistad | 5 |
| Macy Petry | 2 |
| Jordyn Rasch | 2 |
