With his team down 10-0 to Thief River Falls, Holy Angels coach Dan Woods called timeout and made his message clear.

Shoot the ball.

On the second possession after the timeout, guard Megan Thompson hit a three-pointer, and the typically quiet guard let out a roar.

That shot woke up Holy Angels, which tied the game less than two minutes later. And once the Stars went ahead, they never looked back, defeating Thief River Falls 55-42 to advance to the Class 3A championship.

“I knew we could come back,” Thompson said. “I knew we needed some fire, some energy. … I think today I had to be a little more animated than usual.”

Thief Rivers Falls (26-4) played a box-and-one defense designed to stop the Stars’ Laura Bagwell-Katalinich from scoring inside. It also left the perimeter wide open, hence Woods’ early first half timeout message.

Once Holy Angels (24-5) started shooting, it started scoring. The Stars finished 7-of-12 from three-point range and debunked a myth in the process.

“Most people think that we are not as talented, that we may only have a couple players,” Woods said. “They know now that we have more players than you may think.”

Kylea Praska led Thief River Falls with 14 points, but Holy Angels’ balanced scoring effort ended the unseeded Prowlers’ title run and sent them to Saturday’s third-place game.

Megan Meyer led Holy Angels with 21 points, Thompson finished with 14 and Bagwell-Katalinich had nine points and 16 rebounds for the Stars.

They will play for the state title at 6 p.m. Saturday in Williams Arena.

First report

Thief River Falls started with a 10-0 on Holy Angels in Thursday’s Class 3A semifinal.

Two minutes later, the game was tied.

And after Holy Angels went ahead, it never looked back. The Stars defeated Thief River Falls 55-42 at Williams Arena to advance to the Class 3A championship.

Megan Meyer led the Stars with 21 points, Megan Thompson scored 14 and Laura Bagwell-Katalinich added nine points and 16 rebounds.

Kylea Praska led Thief River Falls with 14 and Jenna Tadych had 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Holy Angels will play in the championship game Saturday at 6 p.m. in Williams Arena.

Check back later for more on the game.