Fergus Falls received exceptional play in the post, led by Ainsley Hansen (13 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists).  Hannah Polejewski added 6 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists, and Cyntreya Lockett provided 6 points and 6 boards off the bench.  The three post players combined for 25 points, 24 rebounds and 7 assists on the night, shooting 64% (9/14).

The Redhawks paid close attention to Ellie Colbeck, holding her to six first half points on just 1-of-8 shooting, however, Colbeck started finding her rhythm in the second half as she finished with a team high 25 points, while completing her double-double with 11 rebounds and adding 6 assists.  Tori Ratz finished with 14 points on the night.

The intense defensive pressure being applied in the second half by Minnehaha Academy led to 17 of the Otters 21 turnovers in the game and provided the Redhawks with several transition scoring opportunities as they fought their way back to within 9 points late in the game.  Fergus Falls made their free throws down the stretch, finishing 19-for-28 (67.9%) from the line, securing the victory.

The Otters shot 47.7% (21-44) for the game and made 8-of-18 (44.4%) 3-pointers.  They also had a tremendous advantage on the boards with 38 boards compared to 22 for the Redhawks.  Thirteen of the rebounds were on the offensive end of the court with Hansen coming up with 7 ‘O’ boards.

“We got a really good lead heading into the second half,” said senior captain Ellie Colbeck.  “We talked about how we couldn’t let them back into it and we had to keep the energy up.”

Minnehaha Academy had a dismal offensive start to the night, hitting only 22.2% (6-27) of their first half field goal attempts and 2-of-11 3’s.  They improved that percentage greatly in the second half, shooting 56.7% (17-30) from the field and making 3-of-13 (38.5%) 3’s.  Their game totals were 40.4% (23-57) from the floor and 29.2% (7-24) from 3-point range.  Adi Mack scored 22 of her team high 25 points in the second half and also had 4 steals.  Aliyah Al-Hameed was also in double figures with 10 points.  She added 3 assists and 3 steals.  Telia Graham led the team with 4 rebounds and chipped in with 8 points.

“An unbelievable team effort tonight.  The girls worked so hard to win the rebound battle and I thought they responded well to a couple of runs Minnehaha went on, and kept their composure down the stretch. It’s always our goal to get better each day, whether it be practice or a game and the girls responded well,” said Coach Steer.

The Otters, who finished third in the state in Class 3A in 2012 (30-2) and 2014 (30-2), will take a 26-5 record up against top-seeded Providence Academy (28-4) at 2:00pm Saturday in the Class 2A championship game at Williams Arena.  The Lions beat Albany in the other semifinal contest, 55-48.  Pequot Lakes, the team Fergus Falls beat in the quarterfinals, won the consolation title on Friday, beating Montevideo, 60-44.