It’s already that time of year again basketball fans. The smell of popcorn, cheap fragrances, and body odor are in the air. With the first of many games done we’ll recap the Nov. 29th game between Oakes and South Border. Going into this game I can say that Oakes was the clear favorite. A team that lost their all-time leading scorer in team history, Sadie Hansen, to graduation and returned a plethora of starters and heavy rotational varsity players Oakes definitely had something to prove in their first home game of the year... and that they did ladies and gentlemen.
I wish I could have the privilege of saying this game was a close one, but it was anything but that. The game began with Oakes getting off to a hot 15-6 start with no intentions of slowing down. The Mustangs struggled repeatedly to beat the Tornado’s press and push the ball up the court. You could vividly see the frustration and despair that swept over them. In a valiant effort, the Mustangs slowed down in the second quarter and seemed already defeated. The Tornadoes continued to press well into the 3rd quarter and slowly turned this game into a bloodbath of a competition.
The Tornadoes prevailed in this battle by a score of 95 - 38. 5’10 Junior [player_tooltip player_id="100453" first="Laikyn" last="Roney"] was solid all night dropping a team high 26 points. Roney made it look easy all night having breakaway layups and easy dish-off finishes. Behind Roney was second leading scorer and 5’9 senior leader [player_tooltip player_id="316998" first="Abby" last="Cox"] who broke out on early layups and hitting numerous 3 pointers for 24 points. Cox had a solid defensive game as well. If I had to guesstimate how many forced turnover and steals she had I’d need more than two hands to count them. With Roney and Cox playing like this early on it could smell bad news for the rest of the Region. Behind Roney and Cox was 6’1 Center [player_tooltip player_id="296311" first="Emma" last="Muggli"] who did what she always does in being a leaning tower of defensive prowess snagging rebounds and causing havoc for anyone who drove into her lane. Muggli finished with 13 points. Oakes will need to continue to ride this momentum if they want a shot at the district title this year after falling just short of it in the 20-21 season.
Up next for the Tornadoes is going to be Kindred High School. Kindred bested Oakes last year by a score of 73-44 so retribution is sweet this year. Next for the Mustangs will be the Cardinals from Ellendale who beat them in a nail-biter of a game last year 40-36.
