Basketball Recap: Tiospaye Topa Comes Up Short

If Tiospaye Topa was riding high fresh off their 69-15 takedown of Bison last Thursday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. The Tiospaye Topa Thunderhawks came up short against the Harding County Ranchers on Thursday, falling 71-50. While losing is never fun, the Thunderhawks can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' South Dakota basketball rankings (they are ranked 70th, while the Ranchers are ranked 16th).

Harding County's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Kamry Padden, who went 6-for-9 on her way to 16 points along with seven rebounds and four steals. Thanks to that strong game, Padden now owns an excellent 45.7% shooting accuracy. Macey Wendt was another key player, going 5-for-9 to rack up 10 points and five steals.

Tiospaye Topa's defeat dropped their record down to 13-4. As for Harding County, their win was their 16th straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 16-0.

Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Tiospaye Topa will square off against Oelrichs at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday. As for Harding County, they will challenge Bison at 5:30 p.m. on Monday. Harding County is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 57.4 points per game this season.