LaMoure-Litchville-Marion fans rush the court to celebrate with members of the girls basketball team after the Loboes secured their first state title at the Class B state tournament on Saturday, March 7, at the MSU Dome.

Next week, the city of LaMoure will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the boys basketball team winning its first and only state title.

This week, however, is all about the girls program.

LaMoure-Litchville-Marion has plenty to celebrate over the next couple of weeks, as the Loboes added their first state championship in girls basketball after a 64-49 victory over top-seeded Central McLean in the Class B state championship game on Saturday, March 7, at the MSU Dome. Both LaMoure-L-M and Central McLean were making their state title game debuts.

“This is absolutely incredible,” LaMoure-L-M senior forward Norah DelaBarre said. “There have been so many teams before us coming for this title and for it to be us, it’s so amazing. I can’t even put it into words.”

Fresh off of routing defending state champion Benson County in the semifinals the day before, the Loboes (26-2) carried over that momentum and jumped out to an early lead they wouldn’t relinquish. LaMoure-L-M led for all but 1 minute, 28 seconds, amassing a 23-point lead by the opening moments of the third quarter.

The Loboes’ moment in the sun nearly got eclipsed in the opening round against Washburn, where they found themselves trailing by 12 with just 4 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. But they kept their title hopes alive, closing the game on a 20-2 run to advance to the semifinals.

“We should have done some things differently that night,” LaMoure-L-M coach Ben Holen said. “We should have adjusted some things sooner and I’m just so thankful and grateful that the girls picked us up as coaches and got us out of that first round because I would have lost a lot of sleep after that one.”

From those final four minutes of the quarterfinals to the final buzzer of the championship game, the Loboes were dominant. They held Benson County to a season-low 29 points the following night and punctuated the weekend with a title in convincing fashion against the Cougars.

“I knew we had it within us,” DelaBarre said. “We just had to bring it out and I think that’s what happened in that second night. We were locked in and ready to go. We knew we had to do that again tonight.”

The third-seeded Loboes set the tone early, jumping out to a double-digit lead midway through the opening quarter. Addy Smith netted 13 of her 19 points in the first eight minutes, knocking down a pair of 3-pointers. LaMoure-L-M stretched its lead to 15 late in the first quarter and led 23-11 heading into the second quarter.

DelaBarre got going in the second quarter, pouring in six of her team’s first eight points. Mia Van Eeden capped off an 11-4 run with her second 3-pointer of the half to give the Loboes a 34-15 lead. Van Eeden hit three of the Loboes’ seven 3s and finished with 11 points.

“A lot of it comes from the confidence my team has in me to believe in myself,” Van Eeden said. “That helps me be confident on the floor to take those shots.”

The Loboes held the Cougars (25-2) to just six points in the second quarter, taking a 20-point advantage into the locker room after Smith knocked down a 3 before the horn.

“We would find open girls every time,” Smith said. “Everything clicked today and that’s all I can ask for. My teammates were finding me and I was getting open.”

Smith was named tournament MVP.

DelaBarre nearly had a double-double before halftime, grabbing 10 rebounds – six offensive – to go along with eight points. She got her double-double on the first basket of the second half and finished with 20 points and 18 rebounds, grabbing nine offensive boards. The Loboes held a 20-10 edge in second-chance points.

Central McLean never cut the deficit down to single digits, but it got as close as 13 late in the third quarter as Morgan Snyder did all she could to lead a comeback. Snyder put up 36 shots, hitting 12 for 33 points, but went 0-for-10 from behind the 3-point line. The Cougars hit just one 3-pointer on 17 attempts, that coming off the hands of Sally Heger early in the first quarter. She scored 17 straight points for her team at one point, including all six points in the second quarter.

Snyder finished the tournament with 97 points.

The Loboes stayed calm when the Cougars made their run and countered by building their lead back to 20 with 5:23 left. Their final nine points came at the free-throw line to seal the title.

“It’s the three captains that set the tone there – Addy Smith, Norah DelaBarre and Onika Lesko – they are all very competitive, but they’re very seasoned,” Holen said, “They are finally upperclassmen and they’ve been playing a long time and the poise comes from that experience. And they are unselfish. They truly want to play for each other and when you have the perspective and that attitude, poise sometimes is a side effect. The captains deserve the credit for that. They set the tone and the rest of the girls do the job and follow suit.”

DelaBarre said there were some pregame nerves leading up to the title game, but they spent the afternoon watching the Class A Tournament on television to relax. Once they got into the locker room, DelaBarre said they were locked in and ready to go.

DelaBarre, Smith and Snyder were all named to the all-tournament team. Central McLean coach Kipp Sparrow was honored with NDHSCA Coach of the Year honors.

The Loboes said they weren’t sure how they planned on celebrating after winning their first state title, but it will probably look a bit different than when the boys won it in 1976.

“It’s hard to describe,” Holen said. “It hasn’t really set in yet. I’m just super happy for the girls. It’s been 50 years since our boys team won it. To watch these girls work as hard as they did and to get to the top of the mountain, it’s just satisfying and I’m just so happy for them. It’s just sports. We have things in proper perspective. It’s just a game, but when you work as hard as they worked and you reach a goal like this, it teaches you a lot about life. It teaches you a lot about your work ethic and your habits and your approach to things. I’m just so happy for them. They really earned it.”