Bismarck coach Andrea Ronderos couldn't have been happier with the first half her team put together against Dickinson Saturday.

She wasn't as happy with the second half, but the Demons did enough damage in the first to wind up with a 63-53 win at the Bismarck Civic Center in a state-qualifying game of the West Region girls basketball tournament. Bismarck rolled to a 36-21 halftime lead, but sputtered through much of the second half, enabling the Midgets to close the gap and stay within striking distance.

"We came out and played a great first half. We did the things we had hoped to do," Ronderos said. "Then Dickinson got rolling, and they pushed us to the end. But overall, we held the upper hand. We took care of business ¦ with a few letdowns."

The Demons (17-5) extended their lead to 19 at 44-25 early in the second half, but the Midgets (10-12) got back in it with a 10-0 run - capped off by a Justine Braunagel basket with 11:04 left. Later, the Demons held three 12-point leads before a 10-2 Dickinson run pulled the Midgets within four, 54-50, with 1:25 to play.

Then 28 seconds later, Bismarck's Kelsey Sigl turned the tide by putting back her own miss and drawing a foul in the process. Sigl, who led the Demons with 21 points, went on to make the free throw to give Bismarck a 57-50 lead.

"Big, big play by Kelsey," Ronderos said. "She and Sarah (Feeney) are the ones we want to take the shots at the end of games."

After a 3-point attempt by Dickinson's Brie Lynch went in and out of the basket, Sigl sank two more free throws with 40.9 seconds left to make it 59-50. The senior went 9-for-9 from the stripe in the contest.

Dickinson coach Greg Jung said his team never felt it was out of it in the second half, despite being down by as many as 19 points.

"This team has so much heart and they showed it today," he said. "We just dug ourselves in too big of a hole in the first half, and ran out of chances. But give Bismarck lots of credit. They made the key plays in the end."

Feeney added 17 points, 10 rebounds, three steals and three blocked shots for the Demons, who earned a trip to the state tournament for the fifth straight year. Ronderos also cited Feeney for her defensive effort against Dickinson's top scorer Jess Herauf, who finished with eight points on 4-for-11 shooting.

"Sarah did a great job defending Herauf, especially in the first half," the Bismarck coach said. "That was a big key for us."

Bismarck will be the region's No. 3 seed in the state tournament, which begins Thursday in Fargo.

Ashley Krieg led the Midgets with 21 points.

DICKINSON (53): Ashley Krieg 7-10 4-6 21, Ashley Jahner 1-6 2-2 5, Justine Braunagel 2-6 1-1 5, Kaitlin Ridl 2-5 0-0 6, Jess Herauf 4-11 0-2 8, Brie Lynch 1-6 0-2 2, Megan Michaelson 0-1 2-2 2, Brigette Uttech 1-3 2-3 4, Alyssa Stroh 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-48 11-18 53.

BISMARCK (63): Annie Assel 0-3 0-2 0, Liz Assel 1-4 2-4 5, Kaitlyn Sturlaugson 2-3 1-2 6, Anna Hruby 0-1 3-4 3, Carlie Buechler 1-5 2-2 4, Sarah Feeney 5-9 7-12 17, Kelsey Sigl 6-8 9-9 21, Chelsea Lingle1-3 5-6 7. Totals 16-36 29-41 63.

Halftime: Bismarck 36, Dickinson 21.

3-pointers: D 6 (Krieg 3, Ridl 2, Jahner 1), B 2 (Sturlaugson 1, L. Assel 1). Rebounds: D 31 (Herauf 6), B 34 (Feeney 10). Assists: D 8 (Braunagel 3), B 8 (L. Assel 2). Steals: D 5 (Jahner 3), B 8 (Feeney 3). Turnovers: D 20, B 21. Fouls: D 25, B 16. Fouled out: D, Uttech.

Records: Bismarck 17-5, Dickinson 10-12.

Jamestown 48, Turtle Mountain 40

Jamestown senior Kristi Meikle remembers how she and her teammates felt after the Blue Jays lost a state-qualifying game at last year's West Region girls basketball tournament.

"It was bad. Really bad," she said. "And we felt that way a long time. Me and the other girls who came back this year ¦ we weren't going to let it happen again."

They didn't.

The Blue Jays earned a spot in this week's state tournament Saturday with a 48-40 win over Turtle Mountain. Jamestown had come off a tough 66-56 loss to Century in Friday's semifinals, but Meikle said the Blue Jays had no problem getting refocused for the state-qualifying game.

"We wanted to play in the championship game, but going to state was the big goal," said Meikle, who scored 10 points in the second half Saturday and finished with 12. "We had to forget about what happened on Friday and get mentally tough."

The Blue Jays led by at least five points throughout the second half, but Turtle Mountain didn't let them get comfortable until the final minute. It was 41-35 Jamestown with 2:24 to play, but the Blue Jays made it an 11-point game, 46-35, over the next 1:28. Meikle and Morgan Dale both scored off Turtle Mountain turnovers during that mini run.

"It wasn't our best game, but we did what we had to do," Meikle said.

Amber Ramlo led the Blue Jays - the region's No. 4 in the state tournament - with 16 points. Dale added nine points, 10 rebounds and six assists.

Jordan Allard had 13 points for Turtle Mountain.

TM (40): Quinn Parisien 0-2 0-0 0, Jordan Allard 5-10 2-4 13, Whitney Wallette 0-1 0-0 0, Zena Parisien 0-2 2-2 2, Julia Davis 3-9 1-4 7, Mariah Marcellais 1-8 0-0 3, Sasha Golus 4-13 1-2 9, Jezzarae Larocque 3-11 0-1 6. Totals 16-56 6-13 40.

JAMESTOWN (48): Morgan Dale 2-11 5-6 9, Kara Nygaard 0-2 0-0 0, Brooke Winson 0-5 0-0 0, Samantha Giesler 2-4 0-0 5, Krisit Meikle 5-12 2-3 12, Kelsi Manley 0-1 0-0 0, Kara Wahl 3-7 0-0 6, Amber Ramlo 7-10 1-2 16. 19-52 8-11 48.

Halftime: J 23, TM 17.

3-pointers: TM 2 (Allard 1, Marcellais 1), J 2 (Ramlo 1, Giesler 1). Rebounds: TM 43 (Davis 12), J 34 (Dale 10). Assists: TM 5 (Davis 2), J 13 (Dale 6). Steals: TM 14 (Davis 6), J 12 (Meikle 3, Wahl 3). Turnovers: TM 26, J 24. Fouls: TM 13, J 13. Fouled out: None.

Records: Turtle Mountain 13-9, Jamestown 15-6.