The season ended on Thursday afternoon for the Fergus Falls girls’ basketball team as they fell to the Hibbing Bluejackets by the score of 63-58 in the consolation semifinals of the Class 3A State Tournament at Gangelhoff Center on the campus of Concordia University in St. Paul.
PHOTO PROVIDED by MIKE NORGARD
The Otters led 29-22 at halftime and held a 37-27 lead three minutes into the second half. It was at that point where Hibbing rattled off thirteen consecutive points to take their first lead of the day at 40-37. Abbey McDonald scored eight points and dished out one assist during that run, while Haley Hawkinson had five points, 2 rebounds and an assist. The lead changed hands 7 times from that point on and there were six ties in the game. The Otter regained a momentary lead when Ellie Colbeck fed Lily Pearson for a layup giving the Otters a 54-53 lead. Hibbing took a 55-54 lead on a pair of McDonald free throws and the Otters tied the game at 55-55 on a Pearson free throw, but two converted foul shots by McKenzie Maki with 1:25 remaining made it 57-55, giving Hibbing the lead for good.
McDonald led Hibbing with 25 points and 2 steals. Hawkinson had 11 points, all of them in the second half, and also dished out 3 assists. The Bluejackets shot 47.6% (20-42) overall and made 43.8% (7-16) of their 3-pointers. They also went 16-for-24 from the line.
Colbeck (22 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists) recorded a double-double to lead the Otters. Pearson added 16 points and 7 boards, Tori Ratz hit 3 treys for 9 points and Sam Evavold contributed 5 point and 4 assists. Sabrina Fronning made 3-of-4 shots, finished with 6 points, 2 assists and 1 steal, but had to sit for several minutes in the second half due to foul trouble. The Otters made 46.5% (20-43) of their shots from the floor and 42.1% (8-19) from beyond the arc. They were 10-for-18 on the foul line. Fergus Falls held a 32-21 advantage on the boards.
The Otters end the season with a 23-6 record. Hibbing improves to 28-3 and will play for the Class 3A consolation title at 4:00pm Friday at Concordia University.