Willmar scored 9 of the first 11 points in the second half to pull to within two at 28-26 and then tied the game for the first time at 30-30 on a made basket by Madi Linbo.  Carly Wedel gave the Cardinals a 33-30 lead with a 3-point field goal, one of three she hit in the second half and Willmar took the lead to 37-30 before the Otters came storming back.  Trailing 41-39, Ellie Colbeck buried a three-pointer to give the Otters a 42-41 lead with 1:54 left in the game.  Colbeck made a pair of free throws to increase the lead to 44-41, but Wedel nailed another three-pointer with just 42 seconds remaining to tie the game at 44-44.  After Sam Evavold missed the front end of a one-and-one, Colbeck came up with a steal and was fouled trying to dribble out of the back court.  She went to the line and made two more foul shots to give the Otters a 46-44 advantage with 8.3 seconds to go. Sabrina Fronning stole the inbounds pass and was fouled with 4.5 seconds remaining.  Fronning missed both free throws, but Willmar missed a last second attempt from just over the mid-court line, ending the game.

Colbeck finished the night with 22 points, making four 3’s and hitting all eight of her free throws.  She also dished out 3 assists. Tori Ratz had 8 points, all in the first half and Sam Evavold contributed 6 points and 6 rebounds.  Lily Pearson was held to 6 points, but chased down 12 rebounds, blocked two shots and came up with a pair of steals.  Sabrina Fronning finished with 4 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals and 5 assists.

Wedel and Linbo ended the night with 11 points apiece to lead Willmar.

“This was a great battle between two top CLC teams and a great win for us against the likely conference champs and top seed in Section 5AAA,” commented Fergus Falls Head Coach Brad Strand.  “Both teams made some big plays and both had some struggles in a game that went down to the wire.  I’m proud of how our girls responded in a tough game, in a good atmosphere, against a well-coached team.”

Fergus Falls (19-4) will travel to St. Cloud to face Tech on Friday night and will close out the regular season with a home makeup game against Sauk Rapids-Rice on Saturday.

The loss puts the Cardinals at 19-4 overall and 13-2 in the Central Lakes Conference.