The Section 8 East and West Sub-Section Championships were determined on Tuesday night at the Ralph Engelstad Arena in Thief River Falls.

The East title tilt would feature the Win-E-Mac Patriots (#1) and the Ponies of Warren/Alvarado/Oslo. The first half was a tightly contested defensive struggle that saw the Ponies take a 17-16 point lead into the locker room. Win-E-Mac would take a small lead to open the second stanza, but the Ponies defense held off the charge as the team gained momentum and eventually opened up a double digit lead. Warren/Alvarado/Oslo was led by Angie Erickson (21 points & 8 rebounds) and Alexandria Erickson (15 points, 7 rebounds) as they rolled to a 50 to 30 victory and the West sub-section title.

The win improves the W/A/O record to 24-2. The loss will end the Patriots season at 26-3.

Game #2 of the night would pit the #1 East team, Clearbrook/Gonvick against the #3 seeded Red Lake County Central. The Clearbrook/Gonvick Bears would use an effective pressure defense, and outstanding perimeter shooting to lead by 16 at half time. The Bears would get eight 3-pointers in the first half to pace the team to a 39-23 half time edge. The RLCC Mustangs offensive woes continued in the second half, as they were held to just 15 second half points. Clearbrook/Gonvick would lead in most every statistical category on thier way to a 61 to 38 win. The Bears had a balanced attack with four players in double figures, led by Jessica Spray (15 points, 5 rebounds) and Angela Burgess (11 points, 10 rebounds).

Clearbrook/Gonvick improves to 24-5 on the season, while Mustands year will end at 20-9.

Tuesday night’s sub-section title games set up the Section 8A Championship this Friday night, March 9th at 7pm when the W/A/O Ponies will play the C/G Bears for the Championship and a berth in the State Class A Girl’s Basketball Tournament. Coverage of the title game will be heard on TRF Radio Sports.