OAKES, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – The Edgeley/Kulm/Montpelier Rebels survived in a 58-55 overtime thriller over the Oakes Tornadoes.
Coming into the game, the Tornadoes were suffering their first two-game skid of the season and the Rebels were boasting an undefeated 12-0 record and the #8 ranking in Class B.
It was a low-scoring grudge match from the get-go. Both teams missing bunches of shots early, and turnovers a-plenty in the first quarter. It took both teams over three minutes of action to make their first field goal. Oakes got some help from their freshmen guards Kassidy Jackson and Bri Schmitz early after they had some foul trouble. They were able to make some shots in the paint to help give them a first half lead of 26-25.
The second half continued the same with the two teams scrapping and clawing for each loose ball and fighting hard on every possession. The largest lead for either team was seven points, but even those leads were not held on to for very long. Most shots in the contest were made in the paint. Offensive rebounds by the Rebels led to easy baskets which would haunt the Tornadoes in the entire second half. With the game tied at 45, Kassidy Jackson knocked down a three to take the lead with less than 20 seconds left. The Rebels, however, responded with a three of their own from junior guard Norah Entzi to tie it at 48. The Tornadoes turned the ball over back to the Rebels, but Jackson took a charge to give Oakes one more chance. They were unable to convert so an extra four minutes were needed to determine a winner.
The Rebels knocked down two big shots right out of the gate to gain some separation, but the Tornadoes were able to respond to stay in it. A couple minutes into the extra period, Oakes junior star Laikyn Roney fouled out of the game after a very solid performance. They had to look elsewhere for their scoring and they got some from junior center Emma Muggli. However, the Rebels were able to take advantage of the Tornadoes’ foul trouble and knocked down some free throws to put the game on ice.
Roney led all scorers with 27 points on 11-29 shooting. Entzi finished with 16 points and went 3-4 beyond the arc to lead the Rebels’ scoring. Sophomore guard Mataeya Mathern and junior guard Kiara Jangula finished with 14 points apiece. Mathern shot 4-18 from the floor and went 7-17 from the free-throw line. Jangula was 6-19 from the floor. Senior forward Emily Kinzler finished with 11 points and 3-15 shooting, but was 4-6 from the free-throw line.
Oakes falls to 7-6 and pick up their third loss in a row. As for EKM, they stay unbeaten and improve to 13-0 and 2-0 in district play. They are in action again on Thursday night at Carrington who is currently unbeaten in district play.