Oakes, ND (NewsDakota.com) – The Oakes Tornadoes girls’ basketball team took an early lead and dominated for three quarters Thursday night, but they were given all they could handle in the fourth quarter before holding on to beat the Lamoure-Litchville/Marion Loboes 52-45. The Tornadoes led 16-9 after the first and 34-18 at halftime before pushing their lead over 20 in the third quarter.
Junior Molly Musland hit a three-pointer right at the end of the third to make it a 43-27 game heading into the fourth, then she picked up right where she left off by adding nine more in the final quarter. Abby Haberman hit two three-pointers in the second half to help the Loboes in their comeback bid.
Musland, generally one of the top scorers for the Loboes, only had three points in the first half, as sophomore Laikyn Roney was tasked with guarding her and more than stepped up to the challenge. Roney picked up her fourth foul in the third quarter and had to sit until the fourth, which impacted the Tornadoes on offense. Upon her return, Roney did not guard Musland until junior Abby Cox fouled out in the fourth, pushing Roney back onto Musland.
In the third quarter, senior Sadie Hansen was the only Tornado to score, pouring in nine points in the quarter. The Loboes got as close as three points in the fourth, but they could never make it all the way back, as late free throws from junior Brynn Dethlefsen and sophomore Emma Muggli helped seal the game. The Tornadoes were only 5-11 from the line in the last quarter, but four late makes from Dethlefsen and Muggli ultimately proved to be enough.
Musland led all scorers by the end with 17 points, while Haberman ended with 10 and freshman Tessa Rasmusson added 11. The Tornadoes were led by Hansen with 16, while Roney finished with 14, albeit with only one point in the second half. Muggli added nine points.
The win moves the Tornadoes to 11-1 on the season and sets them up to be the 2-seed heading into the District 5 tournament, which starts on Friday February 12th. Carrington will be the 1-seed, with the Loboes (10-4 overall) sitting in third.
The next game for both the Tornado boys and girls will be Saturday, when the Medina-Pingree-Buchanan Thunder visit Oakes for a double-header with action live on KDDR 1220 am/95.9 fm beginning around 2:15 pm. The next action on KDDR will be wrestling on Friday taking place in Napoleon. That coverage will begin around 2:45. All of those events will also be available to stream on newsdakota.com.