BISMARCK -- The Dickinson High girls basketball team went down swinging on Saturday.
The Midgets trimmed what was once a 19-point deficit down to four in the final minute of the game, but ran out of steam as second-ranked Bismarck High advanced to next weekend's Class A state tournament with a 63-53 win in a West Region Tournament state-qualfying game at the Bismarck Civic Center.
"These kids played as hard as any team I've coached," Dickinson coach Greg Jung said. "Over the last month, this team matured into a good basketball team."
The Midgets (10-12) aren't making the trip to Fargo despite the play of junior guard Ashley Krieg, who had a career-high 21 points and made three 3-pointers.
"Ashley's a great pure shooter," Jung said. "When she's confident, she's as good as shooter as we have."
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Krieg scored the Midgets' final eight points, which included a pair of free throws with 1 minute, 25 seconds remaining to bring Dickinson within four points at 54-50.
"They got rolling with their shots," Bismarck High coach Andrea Ronderos said. "They got hot from the 3 (point line)."
However, Bismarck resorted to its strength to close it out -- free-throw shooting. The Demons went 6 of 6 down the stretch and finished 29 of 41 for the game.
The Demons were led in scoring by senior Kelsey Sigl, who had 21 points and nine rebounds, but played just 23 minutes because of foul trouble.
"We had to try and use her sparingly," Ronderos said.
She was there to convert on a three-point play and follow with a pair of free throws to give the Demons a 59-50 lead with 40 seconds to go. Senior teammate Sarah Feeney finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
"We dug ourselves a hole," Jung said. "There was a lot of scrambling and we ran out of chances at the end."
Bismarck used good ball movement to get its big first-half lead, capitalizing on turnovers with a 15-6 run to end the first half.
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"We got it into the high post and it was there for the taking," Ronderos said. "We got open looks."
Dickinson used a 10-0 run to get within striking distance in the second half and Krieg's shooting hand heated up late before the Demons put the final clamps on. The Midgets will lose just one starter to graduation and two seniors overall.
"Next year will be exciting," Jung said. "We think we'll have a great year."
D: Ashley Krieg 21, Jess Herauf 8, Kaitlin Ridl 6, Ashley Jahner 5, Justine Braunagel 5, Brigette Uttech 4, Brie Lynch 2, Megan Michaelson 2.
B: Kelsey Sigl 21, Sarah Feeney 17, Chelsey Lingle 7, Kaitlyn Sturlaugson 6, Liz Assel 5, Carlie Buechler 5, Anna Hruby 2.
Halftime score: Bismarck 36, Dickinson 21. 3-pointers: D 6 (Krieg 3, Ridl 2, Jahner), B 2 (Assel, Sturlaugson). Free throws: D 11-18, 29-41. Total fouls: D 26, B 16. Fouled out: D 2 (Herauf, Uttech). Rebounds: D 36 (Herauf 8), B 43 (Feeney 10, Sigl 9). Assists: D 10 (Braunagel 3), B 6 (Assel 2). Steals: D 8 (three with 2), B 9 (Buechler 3, Feeney 3). Blocks: D 0, B 3 (Feeney 3). Turnovers: D 20, B 19.
