Oakes, ND (NewsDakota.com) – The Medina-Pingree-Buchanan Thunder visited Oakes on Saturday, and both the boys and the girls were stopped by the Tornadoes in two very different games.
The girls were up first, and the Tornadoes wasted no time coming out strong, taking a double-digit lead in the first quarter. Senior Sadie Hansen scored 16 points in the first quarter, outscoring the Thunder by herself, as the Tornadoes led 22-12. The game never got closer than that, as the Tornadoes led 35-21 at halftime and won the game 60-36.
Junior Ryleigh Martin was virtually the entire offense for the Thunder until the fourth quarter, scoring 15 points in the first half on her way to 20 for the game. No other Thunder player scored more than four.
Hansen led all scorers with 29 points. Sophomore Emma Muggli added 14 for the Tornadoes, and junior Abby Cox scored seven, six of which came in the third quarter.
The Tornadoes improved to 12-1 on the season, while the Thunder dropped to 9-5. The Tornadoes are set to be the second seed in the District 5 tournament (beginning February 12th) after beating the LaMoure-Litchville/Marion Loboes Thursday night.
The Tornado boys came out to the opposite start, watching the Thunder jump out to an 11-4 lead as sophomore Joshua Moser scored 13 first quarter points. The Tornadoes were able to make a run of their own, bringing the game to within three at the end of the first quarter, 18-15. The teams played nearly even through the third quarter, as the Tornadoes led 30-28 at half time, and the teams entered the fourth quarter tied at 46.
Senior Garret Meehl took over for the Tornadoes in the fourth quarter, as they outscored the Thunder 20-10 to make the final score 66-56. Meehl scored 14 in the fourth quarter on his way to a game high 33. He was 13-14 from the free throw line in the game, including 9-10 in the final quarter. Senior Ashton Biesterfeld added 20 points of his own.
Moser finished with 30 points in the game, including six three-pointers. Freshman Rylen Wick scored nine points on three three-pointers for the Thunder, and sophomore Sawyer Wanzek scored all eight of his points in the third quarter, including two three-pointers of his own.
The Tornadoes improved to 9-3, while the Thunder fell to 5-6.
The coming week is full of games, as basketball will be on KDDR 1220 am/95.5 fm Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Each night the coverage will start around 7:15 pm, beginning with the Tornado girls visiting Kindred on Monday night. The girls will also play Thursday against the Linton-HMB Lions, while the boys will host the Lamoure-Litchville/Marion Loboes Tuesday before traveling to Ellendale to play the Cardinals on Friday.