The Ipswich Lady Tigers' girls' basketball team swept a pair of overtime road victories last week to close out their regular-season schedule at 15-5. That's not a typo, believe it or not! The IHS girls indeed capped their regular-season's final week with a pair of wins, topping Highmore-Harrold 53-46 in OT at Highmore last Tuesday and following that with a 63-58 OT thriller two nights later on the road against Potter County. (They were coincidentally scheduled to host H-H in a Region 2B bracket semi-final on Tuesday in Ipswich.)

Both of the 2B bracket championships will then be hosted by the higher-seeded teams, beginning at 7 p.m. Thursday and those winners will each advance to the SoDak 16 on March 5.

First things first! Versus Highmore-Harrold, Coach Brian Hogie said "Katie Bierman had an and-one to put us up 50-49. They hit one of two free throws to tie it at 50. Then we both went a couple of possessions without scoring." That sent the game into OT tied at 50 and Ipswich cruised to a 13-8 advantage in the extra period, led by Halle Heinz's nine points there.

Heinz totaled 22 points, featuring one trey and a 7-8 effort at the charity stripe. Katie Bierman followed Heinz in scoring with a 17-point double-figure evening. Chesney Olivier was next with eight points, followed by Bailey Pitz with six points thanks to a pair of treys. Halie Feldman and Lindsey Grabowska each scored four points and Tessa Kilber capped her team's scoring with a basket.

Oakley Jandreau tallied 17 points and 15 rebounds for the hosts for a double-double, as were Letha Jessen's 16 points and 10 rebounds. Courtney Moser also contributed a double-figure scoring effort with 10 points. Three other players scored.

Ipswich had led 11-10 after a quarter and 27-21 at intermission. However, the hosts rallied with a 19-10 third-quarter scoring edge, easing ahead 40-37 with a quarter to play. But Ipswich outscored its host 13-10 in the final stanza of regulation time, requiring four more minutes for the teams to sort things out. (The lead had changed hands eight different times and Ipswich's largest lead was four points, early in the contest.)

Ipswich shot 25-66 in floor-shot attempts, including its trio of treys. The Tiger girls were 10-13 in free throw tries. The hosts were 22-66 in total floor shots and featured five treys. They were only 9-20 at the line.

Ipswich faced a 54-37 rebounding deficit, despite Chesney Olivier's eight retrieves. But the hosts committed 20 turnovers; Ipswich, 11. Ipswich came away with 17 steals, led by Chesney Olivier's six. (She also distributed six assists.)

In the Ipswich vs. PC contest, meanwhile, the hosts would get off to an early 13-8 lead and their biggest lead of the game would be eight points at one juncture of the opening quarter. Ipswich responded with a 10-8 second-quarter scoring lead as well as a 11-10 edge in the third stanza and a 13-11 final quarter advantage to require the OT, tied at 42-all. Ipswich again dominated the extra period 11-4 for the eventual 53-56 win. "Halle (Heinz) got a steal late and was fouled and went 1-2 at the free throw line to give us a one-point lead," Hogie explained. " Their shot missed and we have another offensive possession where we didn't score. They got fouled and made one free throw to tie the game up. We had another good look and missed a jump shot. They then missed two looks to send it into OT."

In the overtime session, Heinz scored four points and Pitz hit a trey to put her team up seven. (Chesney Olivier and Katie Bierman were the two remain IHS scorers in the OT, while the hosts managed only four OT points.)

Heinz led all scorers with 23 points, including a pair of treys. Two other Lady Tigers almost reached double-figure scoring territory with nine points apiece, Chesney Olivier and Pitz, who featured three treys, along with nine of Ipswich's 35 rebounds. Katie Bierman finished with six points, while Feldman scored five points, including her team's remaining trey. Kilber completed IHS scoring with one free throw.

Jenna Robbenolt led PC with 15 points and 13 of her team's 48 rebounds. Tyler Simon was next in scoring with 14 counters. Five more players got into the Battlers' scorebook.

Ipswich shot 19-66 from the floor, including those six treys. The Tiger girls were 9-14 in free throws. Potter County battled back with a 14-50 floor-shot night that featured two treys and a warm 16-19 free throw evening.

Ipswich sustained 16 turnovers; PC, 27, a key ingredient in the ultimate outcome. The Tiger girls came away with 17 steals; PC, 10.