OAKES, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – The Oakes Tornadoes girls’ basketball team were unable to get a win Thursday night against Aberdeen Christian falling by a final score of 34-33.

It was a grudge match as expected with Aberdeen Christian being one of the best defensive teams in all of South Dakota. The Tornadoes got off to a roaring start by pressing early, forcing turnovers and making layups. After a quick 16-6 lead and 12 points from junior Laikyn Roney, they went away from the press and their half-court offense was exposed against the tough Knights defense. Aberdeen Christian was able to put up a quick 10-0 run to tie the game before eventually taking a 21-20 lead into the halftime break.

Roney picked up three fouls in the first half and quickly picked up her fourth early in the third quarter, so the scoring was left up to junior center Emma Muggli who was having to battle against the Knights’ 6-foot-4 junior center Mallory Miller. Roney returned with five minutes left in the fourth quarter, but the defense of the Knights wasn’t any less suffocating. Muggli knocked down a massive three-pointer with a little over two minutes left to cut the lead to one, but Aberdeen Christian’s defense was still too much.

Roney lead the way with 14 points and Muggli finished with nine. Miller finished with 19 points on 22 attempted shots.

Aberdeen Christian improves to 6-0 and remains one of the only three unbeaten teams in Class B in South Dakota. Oakes falls to 5-3 on the regular season and are back at it on Friday night at 6:00 p.m. against a winless Barnes County North.