The Oakes Tornadoes waltzed into their matchup on Monday with three straight wins but they left with four. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past Richland 60-58. Having run the score up that high, both teams probably have some extra defensive drills coming up.
Lily Thorpe was her usual excellent self, dropping a double-double on 19 points and ten rebounds. Another player making a difference was Molly Sitzler, who scored 11 points along with two steals.
Oakes pushed their record up to 12-4 with that victory, which was their third straight at home. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 63.0 points per game. As for Richland, they have traveled a rocky road recently having lost five of their last six matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 6-12 record this season.
Oakes will take on the Loboes at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are closely ranked in North Dakota (LaMoure/Litchville-Marion is ranked 53rd, while the Tornadoes are ranked 44th). As for Richland, they will be playing in front of their home fans against the Warbirds at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday.
