Girls: Valley City 70, Wahpeton 43
Valley City seized control early, dominating the opening quarter while outscoring Wahpeton 19-5 to set the tone. Katie Burchill and Maddy Frieze led the way, while Mariah Frieze provided a spark off the bench with five points in the frame.
The second quarter saw Valley City’s scoring slow briefly as Wahpeton netted the first four points, but the Hi-Liners responded emphatically. Valley City closed the half on a 13-3 run to take a commanding 32-12 lead into the break.
The third quarter proved to be a rare stumble for the Hi-Liners, as they struggled to contain the outside shooting of Piper Nelson. Nelson poured in 10 points in the period, helping the Huskies outscore Valley City 21-14 and briefly cut into the deficit.
Order was restored in the fourth quarter, as Burchill took over, scoring at will on her way to a game-high 26 points. Valley City’s defense also locked in, limiting Wahpeton to just two made field goals in the final frame as the Hi-Liners cruised to their 10th win of the season.
Boys: Wahpeton 76, Valley City 46
The boys game was tightly contested early, with both teams trading runs through the first half. Wahpeton leaned on the steady scoring of Jack Gilbertson and Brayden Steffens, while Valley City countered behind Jack Dieterle and Miken Mattson.
Gilbertson and Dieterle set the pace in the first quarter, with Gilbertson scoring 11 points and Dieterle battling his way to seven. A late 5-0 run proved decisive, as Gilbertson buried a 3-pointer and followed with a putback at the horn to give Wahpeton a 15-9 edge.
The second quarter featured the emergence of Mattson, who scored nine of Valley City’s 17 points in the frame. Wahpeton answered with Steffens, who knocked down a series of midrange jumpers, while the Huskies’ bench added six points to extend the lead to 33-26 at halftime.
The game became lopsided in the second half, as Steffens and Gilbertson continued to dominate, finishing with 17 and 26 points, respectively. Dieterle and Mattson combined for just one made field goal after halftime. Jack Samuelson provided a bright spot for Valley City with seven third-quarter points, but Wahpeton’s balanced attack proved overwhelming, as 11 different Huskies scored in the runaway win.
Valley City’s next game is a girls matchup at Kindred on Thursday at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on 1490 AM/96.3 FM KOVC and online at NewsDakota.com.