Section 8AAA girls' basketball: Cardinals head to title game

• Bowser

Kalli Bowser had seven steals and six points against the Prowlers Saturday night as the Cardinal girls defeated Thief River Falls to advance to the Section 8AAA championship game on Friday night. Eric Morken, Echo Press

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The Cardinal girls will get one more chance at top-ranked Fergus Falls on Friday as Alexandria faces the Otters in the Section 8AAA championship at St. John’s University at 7:30 p.m.

The Cards earned their spot in the finals with a 50-40 win over No. 8 ranked Thief River Falls Saturday behind a 22-point performance from Amanda Christianson.

It was just the third loss of the season for the Prowlers, who were the No. 2 seed in the North half of the section.

“We had one thing on our minds and that was to play together and advance,” said Cardinal head coach Wendy Kohler. “We came out energized and the defense was flying all over the court.

“Our depth kept the heat on as we got off to a solid start. We led at the half, but knew that they were 25-2 for a reason and would come out making a run and some adjustments on both ends.”

The Prowlers did just that, taking a three-point lead after going on a 9-0 run, but the Cardinals took a time out and regrouped.

“[We] made some excellent adjustments of our own and were able to pull away with defensive stops, rebounding, diving for loose balls and cashing in at the free throw line,” said Kohler, whose team was 18-for-20 from the charity stripe.

Christianson hit 11-for-12 at the line as part of her 22, and Karly Betterman added 12 points.

Kalli Bowser made seven key steals.

Alexandria is now 18-8, reaching the Section 8AAA finals for the fourth straight time.

ALEXANDRIA 50,

THIEF RIVER FALLS 40

ALEXANDRIA 25 25 — 50

THIEF RIVER FALLS 19 21 — 40

ALEXANDRIA – Amanda Christianson 22, Karly Betterman 12, Kalli Bowser 6, Dani Strater 3, Kendall Kohler 3, Macey Hatlestad 2, Amanda Gould 2.

Tags: alexandria sports, sports, cardinals, girls, basketball, section, 8aaa