North Dakota Class A State Tournament: West Fargo Sheyenne upsets Mandan to highlight first day
The Class A State Tournament went mostly to chalk Thursday. The one upset to the established order was a doozie though as West Fargo Sheyenne earned its first ever state tournament victory in a huge upset over No. 2 Mandan.…
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Continue ReadingThe Class A State Tournament went mostly to chalk Thursday. The one upset to the established order was a doozie though as West Fargo Sheyenne earned its first ever state tournament victory in a huge upset over No. 2 Mandan.
The shock in that one was that Mandan was up by almost 20 fairly early in the first half and not only did the Mustangs come back, they came back to lead by double figures by about the midway point of the second half.
Now the Mustangs get to face the top team in the EDC – Devils Lake – for the third time this season.
Game 1: Devils Lake vs. West Fargo Sheyenne
Devils Lake crushed Williston in the first game of the day, beating the surprise team of the field by 23 after a sluggish start. The Firebirds will get the Mustangs who pulled off the upset of the tournament, beating Mandan 75-61.
Devils Lake is 2-0 against Sheyenne during the regular season, winning by 30 and 17 points. On paper, this one doesn’t feel like much of a contest but neither did the Sheyenne matchup with Mandan. It’ll be interesting to see if the Mustangs to continue to ride that proverbial high or if they crash back down to earth against a team that’s shown no signs of weakness all season.
The Firebirds have a balanced offense and play with a pace and tempo that is tough for teams to handle. A third matchup may take away some of that shock so it’ll be interesting to see if the Mustangs try to slow the game down, or try to match the pace.
Game 2: Bismarck Century vs. Bismarck Legacy
Century made quick work of Grand Forks Red River, winning by 32 points and dominating from start to finish. The Patriots get a third matchup with Bismarck Legacy, which has been the fourth or fifth best team all season long. The Sabers beat Fargo Shanley 56-45 in one of the better games of the day.
Century beat Legacy by 21 and 29 in the two regular season meetings, illustrating just how wide the gap is between the perceived best team in the state and the team that has been considered either four or five all year.
Can Legacy cook up something different to slow down the Patriots this time around? Lilly Keplin and Lauren Ware appear to be on a mission to win a second-straight state title and nothing any team has shown them thus far has provided much resistance. Even Mandan had no answer for them in the WDA tournament.
The Sabers have been one of the best defensive teams in the state this winter and they’ll need to be as good as ever (plus get a subpar game from Century) if they want to make this a game.