Bison
NDSU started the week against Sioux U in Basketball. Both games lived up to what long standing rivalries should include. The guy's showed yet again that they are on very similar levels as each other. UND is a couple notches down in the Summit league standings so another rematch is unlikely but I wouldn't mind it one bit if it played out that way in Sioux Falls! Vinnie Shahid lead the way as he has done consistently of late. The women fought hard in their contest but fell short thanks to the work of Lexi Klabo. For the Bison it was a total team effort to try and sweep the season, with Emily Dietz's 13 leading the way.
Each team returned to the court on Saturday against Denver. The women lost by 20 and in so doing all but locked themselves into a bottom 2 seed in Sioux Falls. Which means that it'll likely be another year before they can win at the tournament & possibly that there will be a new coach leading the team into 2020 and beyond. It's quite a turn from just a couple weeks ago but unfortunately tracks with the recent history. The guy's on the other hand continued their run of success with a 10 point win in which Shahid shined again. As their health continues to improve, the odds of success when it matters most only increases. The field of 68 isn't going to happen but a run to the championship game could happen and would go a long way in securing Richman's future in Fargo.
Friday & Saturday also included the Track & Field teams at the "SDSU Indoor Classic." As has repeatedly been the case this year, NDSU showed up & dominated several events. The full gamut of results deserve more attention than they will ever get, but here's a little bit to correct it. Women & Men
The week was concluded with the debut of another of the school's most successful D1 teams. The Softball team squeezed three games into two days and can do no worse than to leave Texas with an even record. A win tomorrow would give them a 3-1 start. Life in the South has barely begun but that's a good start to life after Jax!
Dragons
Moorhead State's three day slate started with a trip by the Track & Field team to SoDak State. A day clear of it's conclusion and there have yet to be results for the Dragon contingent.
Friday & Saturday also included games by both Basketball teams. First against SW MN St, then against Sioux Falls. It was a tale of two days as the Dragons won comfortable in each while Saturday's pair were each down to the wire contests. Kiley Borowicz's 27 lead everybody on Friday while Megan Hintz continued her impressive run on Saturday with 28 & 11 - her 12th double double of the season. She's now averaging a dbl-dbl for the season. Friday's outcome was a 29 point win while Saturday came down to a last second three by Anna Goodhope to give Sioux Falls the win.
The guy's were paced by Travaun Coad's 23 & 9 as they ran to a 19 point win on Friday. Coad lead the way again on Saturday with Addison Park being one point behind with 15. They needed every bit of the scoring that they got to survive a 39 point performance by Trevon Evans.
Saturday also included a two day trip by the Tennis team to Bismarck. Sioux Falls came first and was blanked by the Dragons. After that it was Augustana who pulled off the shutout against MSUM.
Wrestling rounded out the week against Mankato with a narrow 16 - 18 loss.
Cobbers
The Cornies started off with a trip to Macalester by their men's Basketball team. They pushed it to overtime but the Mac attack was too much for them in the third stanza and they fell by 5. They returned on Wednesday against Saint John's but yet again came up short. The men completed their three game week with a lopsided loss against Bethel on Saturday.
The Wrestling team drew second blood in the week's activity against Dickinson State in dominating fashion of their own only losing one of their 10 matches.
The Women's Basketball team also played on Wednesday, against Saint Benedict. They also pushed the game to overtime and also weren't quite able to finish the job in the bonus allotment. On Saturday they also traveled to the cities to play Bethel but rounded out the week's Basketball in the worst way, losing by 43 points.
The Hockey team's took to the ice on Friday against Gustavus Adolphus. It was another overtime game when the guys faced off, with Concordia coming out on the right side of that one thanks to two goals in a row by Aaron Herdt, including the game winner. The Saturday rematch came down to a first period goal by Tyler Bossert. That's not much, but was enough. On the women's side they got an early one goal lead which preceded a six goal blizting. It was a similar script in the rematch, the only difference being that Gusty only scored five goals..."only."
The Track & Field team's rounded out Saturday with third place finishes by each at invites at St. John's. The full men's and women's results may be worth your time.
The capper was the third 9-0 loss in a row to start the year by the women's Tennis team. That seems like the rock bottom, which would mean that it'll get better from here. Or at least would mean that it can't get worse for the Tennis folks.
High School Sports
Oak Grove hosted Enderlin on Friday night in a key region 1 matchup. If you missed the post or want to see the photos, you know what to do. Saturday included a visit by Monticello to Moorhead in a game that was dramatic & memorable. I got some great photos from both, if I may say so myself!