The East Grand Forks girls’ motto of “Commit, compete, conquer” was splashed across the back of the Green Wave’s game shirts – and also woven deep within their play throughout the Moorhead Summer Showcase Sunday, July 18 at Concordia College. With three intense victories, the unbeaten Green Wave captured the championship of the girls’ division.

East Grand Forks beat Crookston (49-12), Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton (37-34) and then edged Ada-Borup (44-37) in the tournament finale to finish off its title. The backcourt tandem of junior Brandi Wickersham and senior Chelsey Frydenlund powered the Green Wave, both offensively and defensively.

“It was three good games of basketball and I was pretty proud of the girls for it,” said Green Wave coach Durene Frydenlund.

The younger Frydenlund penetrated and either dished to open teammates like Brooke Greenwood and Wickersham or created her own shot, helping East Grand Forks lead throughout much of the first half. But Ada-Borup didn’t wither and actually led 25-24 at the half.

The Green Wave picked up its intensity even more in the second half, using a 16-8 run after intermission to earn the championship. But it wasn’t easy.

For the final 20 minutes, both teams fought for loose balls, played in-your-face defense and made life tough for the opposition. Wickersham took the hardest shot, deflecting a ball with her face during a scramble for possession. She quickly shrugged it off and kept going.

Round-Robin pool play

Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 31, Ada-Borup 30 OT
East Grand Forks 49, Crookston 12

East Grand Forks 37, Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 34
Ada-Borup 37, Crookston 19

Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 48, Crookston 32
East Grand Forks 44, Ada-Borup 37

Champions: East Grand Forks (3-0)
Second: Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton (2-1)
Third: Ada-Borup (1-2)
Fourth: Crookston (0-3)

Any thoughts on how your team looks heading into the season?
I really see our subsection as wide open. (Norman County) East and New York Mills were the two big dogs last year, but they both graduated a lot of kids. So I think if we can continue to progress at the rate we’re progressing, we’re going to be in the thick of it. Parkers Prairie in the other half lost (Sari) Noga, but they have another Noga back and a couple of Dorns. They’ll still be tough.

The towns of Barnesville, Jamestown and Fargo aren’t what one would typically expect to find in a co-operative effort. It’s a 121-mile jaunt on I-94 through them all, almost a two-hour drive by car. But on the basketball court, they certainly appear closer.

Players from the three towns joined efforts to claim the championship of the Moorhead Showcase boys’ blue division with a 56-41 victory over Brandon-Evansville. West Fargo’s Justin Schock, Fargo North’s John Mullen, Jamestown’s Matt Johnson and Barnesville’s John Hagen combined for 42 points to outscore the Chargers.

“It’s a bunch of good kids that like to play ball,” said coach Harold Hagen, who was subbing behind the bench for regular coach Mark Blonigan. “Considering that none of them have played on a high school team together, I thought they played pretty well (together).

“I’d sure like to take this team and play high school ball with them.”

Hagen coached many of the players on a Jamestown traveling team, which often squared off against the crew from Fargo. The friends decided to team up to play in a few tournaments this summer, with good results so far. In the title game, they raced out to a 28-10 lead in the opening minutes before Brandon-Evansville could recover.

Schock was a force inside, using his big frame to dominate the offensive glass. Mullen provided a second big body inside, which wore down the much smaller Chargers. Brandon-Evansville was also short-handed, playing with only six players.

“We have some injury issues that have lingered throughout the summer. But we think we have eight guys that can play,” said Chargers’ coach John Holsten. “All we can ask is to compete. I think other than the first 10 minutes we competed pretty well. I’m proud of our guys for how they hung in there.”

But the Chargers couldn’t get closer than 12 points the rest of the way.

Pool A results

Barnesville-Fargo 46, Ashby 44
Barnesville-Fargo 58, Stephen-Argyle 42
Stephen-Argyle 51, Ashby 43

Pool B results

Brandon-Evansville 63, Hawley Gold 28
Warroad 37, Hawley Gold 33
Brandon-Evansville 42, Warroad 31

Championship
Barnesville-Fargo 56, Brandon-Evansville 41

Third place
Warroad 48, Stephen-Argyle 42

Fifth place
Ashby 57, Hawley Gold 40

Before the championship game of the boys’ grey division, Perham coach Dave Cresap commented that his team would need good guard play to beat Hawley Maroon. His Yellowjackets certainly got the message.

Guards Zach Gabbard, Jordan Cresap and Nick Tobkin combined for 44 points as Perham outscored the Nuggets 70-65. All three scored in double-figures.

“We’ve got some guards that can shoot the ball pretty well. Most nights, even if we have a couple of guys off, the other guys will be on,” said Cresap. “I think you got a little taste of how we can shoot the ball.”

Gabbard started the scoring outburst by pouring in seven points in the first three minutes to give Perham a 9-5 lead. He showcased his full range by draining a spot-up three, scooping in a layup and then driving left for two. 

Then Tobkin took charge, elevating in the lane for a 10-foot jumper and nailing three straight treys to push the lead to 17 points at 30-13.

“We’re a really good shooting team,” said Tobkin, who scored 19 of his game-high 22 points in the first half. “We work really hard on it and the offense really brings it out. We work all the time: Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays. Any day, we just go out and shoot.”

“They kept coming,” said Cresap. “They’re going to be so athletic on the floor. They can put so many athletes in there, going 10 kids deep.”

The younger Cresap came out of intermission firing, knocking down a pair of treys to again get the lead up to 17 at 63-46. 

But again the Nuggets rallied. Hawley’s Luke VanHaverMaet found his range from deep, responding with three treys over the next few minutes. The Nuggets also amped up their defense, substituting almost as if they were running two lines. When Kevin Olson picked off an errant pass and drove for a layup, Hawley had cut the lead to 70-64.

But the Yellowjackets held on, giving them revenge over the team that had knocked them out of the Section 8AA South semifinals last winter.

Pool A results

Hawley Maroon 49, Detroit Lakes 41
Montevideo 55, Hawley Maroon 53 OT
Detroit Lakes 55, Montevideo 54 2OT

Pool B results

Perham 72, Breckenridge 26
Perham 59, Crookston 30
Crookston 50, Breckenridge 39

Championship
Perham 70, Hawley Maroon 65

Third place
Detroit Lakes 63, Crookston 38

Fifth place
Montevideo 63, Breckenridge 37

I think we’ll go at least 10 kids deep and we’ll be just a harder team to guard because we have a better balance. By committee, we’ll be able to fill Ben’s points and rebounds. I think we’ll be in the thick of it, although Pelican Rapids will probably be the favorite heading into it.