St. Mary's sophomore hits clutch 3-pointer to help Saints earn OT win against Red River

FARGO-Bismarck St. Mary's sophomore Hallie Schweitzer hadn't attempted a 3-pointer all season. She picked a dramatic moment to attempt her first.

Schweitzer sank a 3-pointer at the second-half buzzer to force overtime Thursday at the Fargodome. That clutch shot helped vault the Saints to a 70-64 victory against Grand Forks Red River in the North Dakota Class A girls basketball state quarterfinals.

"I had to get it up there just to give our team a chance and so I took the shot," Schweitzer said.

St. Mary's, which trailed by 12 points at halftime, added two more 3-pointers in overtime to close out the victory.

"The girl made a great shot in the corner," Red River head coach Kent Ripplinger said. "It's hard because all the momentum swings. Not only did they make that 3, they made two more 3s in overtime."

Red River took a 59-56 lead after senior Cassidy Wilson made a 1 of 2 free throws with seven seconds to play in the second half. The Saints got the ball to senior forward Tonya Dvorak, who scored a game-high 33 points. The 6-foot-1 Dvorak got double-teamed on the wing and passed the ball to Schweitzer in the corner. Schweitzer hit the 3-pointer as time expired.

"She hit a heck of the shot at the end," said Dvorak, who scored 21 points after halftime. "It was amazing to have that younger girl hit that shot and we're all going crazy."

Red River struggled from the foul line late in the game. The Roughriders made 4 of 9 free throws in the final 21 seconds of regulation and overtime.

"It's tough for everybody because we were in position to win that game and it didn't work out," Ripplinger said.

SM (20-5): Dvorak 9 14-16 33, Smith 2 4-4 10, Gerving 3 2-2 9, Schweitzer 3 1-3 8, Wanner 2 2-4 6, Mann 2 0-1 4, Senftner 0 0-0 0, Preszler 0 0-0 0, Heick 0 0-0 0, Kopp 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 23-30 70.

RR (18-7): Steffen 6 2-2 15, Frank 7 0-0 14, Wilson 4 2-4 10, Steffan 3 3-5 9, Sondrol 0 6-11 6, Burris 1 2-2 4, Robson 2 0-0 4, Leach 0 2-2 2, Page 0 0-0 0, Azure 0 0-0 0, Hart 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 17-26 64.

Half: RR 32, SM 20. Regulation: SM 59, RR 59. 3-point goals: Dvorak, Smith 2, Gerving, Schweitzer, Steffen. Total fouls: SM 19, RR 22. Fouled out: Sondrol. Rebounds: SM 56 (Wanner 17), RR 37 (Steffan 6). Assists: SM 8 (Dvorak 4), RR 16 (Steffan 8). Turnovers: SM 31, RR 20.

1/6: Bismarck St. Mary's Taylor Gerving is fouled by Grand Forks Red River's Kenady Steffan on her way to the basket during the quarterfinals of the North Dakota Class A girls basketball tournament at the Fargodome. David Samson / The Forum

2/6: Bismarck St. Mary's Sydney Smith leaps to dish off a pass between Grand Forks Red River's Claire Leach and Karlie Robson during the quarterfinals of the North Dakota Class A girls basketball tournament at the Fargodome. David Samson / The Forum

3/6: Grand Forks Red River's Kenady Steffan leaps to fire a pass against Bismarck St. Mary's during the quarterfinals of the North Dakota Class A girls basketball tournament at the Fargodome. David Samson / The Forum

4/6: Bismarck St. Mary's Maria Mann blocks a shot by Grand Forks Red River's Jade Azure during the quarterfinals of the North Dakota Class A girls basketball tournament at the Fargodome. David Samson / The Forum

5/6: Bismarck St. Mary's Hallie Schweitzer drives to the basket against Grand Forks Red River's Shelby Frank during the quarterfinals of the North Dakota Class A girls basketball tournament at the Fargodome. David Samson / The Forum

6/6: Bismarck St. Mary's Tonya Dvorak drives to score against Grand Forks Red River during the quarterfinals of the North Dakota Class A girls basketball tournament at the Fargodome. David Samson / The Forum