| 02/22/2013 |
| Lady Bulldogs shoot down Fliers for district championship |
| By LARRY LEEDS, Sports Editor |
The Madison Lady Bulldogs climbed back on top of District 5A as they defeated the Flandreau Fliers 51-40 in the District 5A championship game on Thursday night at Elkton.
"I am so proud of our players," said Madison Coach Adam Ericsson. "They have come lightyears from where we started. I told the girls that championship game experience is an amazing thing, and they fought hard for this. They earned it." The game was close for the first quarter with Flandreau leading 8-7 after one period. Madison grabbed an early lead in the second period when Danielle Roemen hit for two with just over seven minutes to play in the quarter. Madison would never relinquish the lead for the remainder of the game. The Lady Bulldogs stretched their lead to seven, 18-11, with just over a minute left in the half when Michaela Duff sank a three-pointer. Flandreau added a free throw just before the half was over and Madison held an 18-12 lead. Madison kept stretching its lead in the third period, with most of the points coming at the charity stripe. Madison knocked down 9-of-13 free throws in the third period and held a 35-21 lead heading into the final eight minutes. Flandreau did not get any closer than 11 points at the end of the game. Madison made 12 of 40 field goals, 30 percent, and 25 of 36 free throws, 69 percent. The Fliers made 12 of 52 field goals, 23 percent, and hit 13 of 26 free throws, 50 percent. The Lady Bulldogs held the advantage on the boards 35-23. Roemen ended the game with 20 points to pace the winners. Marinda Kern added 15 points and five rebounds. Madison Nipe had seven points, six assists and a team-high nine rebounds. Roz Vanden Bosch grabbed seven rebounds for the Lady Bulldogs. "What can you say about the play of Danielle and Madison?" said Ericsson. "Danielle knocked down free throw after free throw and handled the ball with confidence. Madison played an amazing floor game (seven points, nine rebounds, six assists, two blocks and two steals). That is one heck of an all-around effort. Marinda and Roz played great also. They were tough inside and gained a ton of confidence." Michaela Dietrich tossed in 15 points and pulled down 10 rebounds for Flandreau. Madison (8-14) will tangle with Sioux Falls Christian on Thursday at Harrisburg for the Region 3A championship. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. "We are by no means done," Ericsson said. "It's starting to sink in for the girls that we are one game from the state tournament. They want to keep playing."
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