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N.D. (NewsDakota.com)- Ellendale and Napoleon will meet Thursday in the Region III title game with a berth in the state tournament on the line. The Imperials cruised in the second half to bury Kidder County on their way to the championship round, 58-36.

Ellendale survived a last second shot that forced overtime to beat Linton 47-42 in the extra session.

Both Madilyn Bommersbach and Dacey Fuller had a chance to put it away in regulation but their shots swirled out of the rim giving the Lions a chance to win or force overtime on the final possession. Nicole Niesuwsma was not the first option on the inbound but she was the best as curled down the lane wide open with 1.5 seconds to go, she banked in a short 3-footer and sent the second semifinal to overtime tied at 40.

In the extra session, Linton scored first giving them their first lead since it was 2-0. Ellendale hit a trio of threes after that opening bucket and didn’t trail again until overtime. Following, the bucket by the Lions in overtime the Cardinals scored the final seven and Bommersbach’s free throws with 10 seconds remaining clinched it.

Napoleon was never really threatened in their win over Kidder County. The Pirates cut the lead down to four in the second half, but the Imperials opened up down the stretch thanks to 22 points from Sheridon Dewald and 17 from Kendra Weigel.

The Imperials are No. 3 in Class B and have already defeated Ellendale once this season by a score of 60-47. The two teams will meet Thursday for a trip to Fargo and the state tournament.

Coverage on TED FM 98.3 and NewsDakota.com begins with the third-place game at 5:45pm.