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Fergus Falls eighth grade girls basketball team finishes season

By Matt Lemke, 03/09/20, 8:00PM CDT

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The 8th Grade Lady Otters finished their traveling season playing in the largest youth basketball tournament in the nation March 7 and 8.  MYAS Grade State Championship because of the high number of teams is formatted for a true third and fourth place bracket tournament. The Otters came into the tournament looking to finish their season strong after having a busy winter season: finishing 3rd in Rogers Blizzard Tournament, 2nd in MYAS Winter Shootout Tournament, and 2nd Blaine Girls Invitational. The MYAS Grade State Championship takes place all over the metro area during this past weekend. 


Photo Provided.

Fergus Falls 23, Byron 27
The Otters jumped out to a fast start against the Bears with overall offensive play of Karyssa Eberle and Julia Hajicek who both made some outside shots to help the Otters to an early lead. The Bears kept chipping away at the Otters lead and ended up ahead at halftime 16 to 14.
In the second half it was a defense game with both teams making some halftime adjustments causing both teams to struggle on the offensive side. The Otters continued to be patient offensively thought the second half which was highlighted by Hajicek hitting her second trey of the game to keep the Otters within 3 points under a minute left in the game. The Otters were able to have one more opportunity to tie the game under 20 seconds, but were unable to convert. causing the Otters to foul and put the Bears on the free throw line, they made one of their free throws giving Otters a 23 to 27 loss. Leading the Otters in scoring were Eberle 12 and Hajicek 9.

Fergus Falls 38, Cottage Grove 13
The Otters refocused and set their sights on working their way back to the 3rd place game. The Otters came out ready to go and was led by overall play of Madi Budke with her numerous steals. It allowed the Otters to transition into their offense and find inside scores from Macee Butler and Grey Korinek, who scored multiple times to help give the Otters a 19 to 2 lead at the break.
In Second half the Otters looked to continue to be patient on offense and move the ball around with inside scores from Butler and Eberle. This allowed the outside shots to open up and was highlighted by Eberle finding Julia Aguilar who hit an outside 3 which propel the Otters to a 38 to 13 win. Leading the Otters in scoring was Eberle 14 and Budke 8.

Fergus Falls 35, Apple Valley 22
The Otters woke up to daylight savings and set their sights on playing as many games as they could starting with Apple Valley. The Otters came out in full court press that allowed the Otters to get numerous turnovers. Eberle and Hajicek were able to make some quick scores which helped the Otters to a 19 to 9 halftime lead.  
In the second half the Otters looked to keep being aggressive on the offensive side of the court finding Eberle multiple times for scores. Defensively the Otters continued to make Apple Valley take difficult shots. The game stayed within 10 points until Elise Pribbenow hit a trey that allowed the Otters to advance with a 35 to 22 win. Leading the Otters in scoring was Eberle 15 and Hajicek 8.

Fergus Falls 35, Eden Prairie 25
The Otters need to win one more game to get to the 3rd place game with Eden Prairie as their next opponent. The Otters started out fast with Budke hitting a trey and some aggressive drives from Eberle that gave the Otters an early 10 point lead. Eden Prairie did not go away and made some tough shots that made it a 4 point lead, but Hajicek found Aguilar and Butler for some scores and Otters 16 to 9 lead at halftime.
In the second half the Otters looked to continue to be aggressive with Korinek and Butler dominating the inside both offensively and defensively. Highlight of their efforts was Butler running full speed and diving out of bounds to knock the basketball back into play while Korinek made multiple baskets to help secure an Otters 35 to 25 win. Leading the Otters in scoring was Eberle 11, Korinek 8, and Butler 7.  

Fergus Falls 31, Watertown 32
The 3rd place game was a game of runs with Otters coming out aggressive with Eberle and Hajicek helping the Otters take an early 9 to 2 lead. Watertown started their own run and tied the game up. The Otters continued to battle with great defensive play from Pribbenow and rebounding from Aguilar and Butler which helped the Otters go into halftime tied 12 to 12.
The entire game was a physical game with the second half intensity going up as the game went on. The Otters defense continued to work hard and looked to keep Watertown off the boards throughout the second half. The Otters offense was propelled by inside game of Eberle, who made some hard fought baskets, allowing the Otters to stay close only down by 5 points. The Otters defense once again came up big with timely defensive play from Budke that helped the Otters transition into their offense highlighted by Hajicek coming down the court and making her 4th – 3 pointer of the game to tie the game up.  The Otters defense once again came up big with a stop and with 14 seconds left in game had a chance to score to take the lead. The Otters were not able to make a basket and a foul was called on the Otters. Watertown made a free throw to win the game and give the Otters a hard fought 32 to 31 loss. Leading the Otters in scoring was Hajicek 14 and Eberle 12. The Otters finish with a 4th place at MYAS Grade State Championship.