To begin the week Kene Nwangwu was named the conference's Special Teams Player of the Week. After that came little else, which is good news considering the trend of health for the players.
So then came the game - Here are thoughts about the it.
As they so often do, NDSU started the week with recognition for performances. Heaven Hamling was named Peak Performer of the Week, the women were then added to the Mid-Major top-25.
Three members of 🏈 were named Conference All-Newcomer with eight more getting All-Conference. Spencer Waege added to that, accepting an invitation to the Hula Bowl.
Paige Goaley represented ⚽️ on the All-Region Team.
Women's 🏃 checked in with Dennis Newell being named Conference Coach of the Year!
When the games began women's took it on the chin against Eastern Michigan and then again by one point versus Central Mich.
In-between 🏃 hosted the Alumni Classic, with standout performances by current members of the men's & women's teams.
🏐 also had their season end in the opening round of the NIVC Tournament, five sets against Davidson.
In addition to the women's game against CM the guys lost to Eastern Washington but saw a few more small steps toward the real goal.
There was also the big win at the Dome to set up a visit by Samford, Friday night in primetime!
Moorhead State's extended weekend started with the men's & women's teams taking care of business in convincing fashion. One particular example of how good they were, the ladies had one of the best defensive performances of Karla Nelson's tenure.
Friday was cut short but that didn't stop 🏃 from heading up to NDSU for their Alumni Classic, which proved to be the location for a school record.
Saturday included the hosting of the Dragon Open, with a handful of high finishers.
also got back on the court in Bismarck, playing to a split as the men cruised to their seventh win of the season while the women dropped to 4 - 3.
🏊 spent the weekend in Rochester. Day 1 didn't go so well but they rallied over the next two.
Men's 🏀 started the week with their final game of the month & made the most of the visit by Martin Luther!
🏒 opened December against Hamline, with the women going to overtime in the first of their two games. In the rematch it was the hosts who did all the scoring. Back in Moorhead the Corn got a pair of kernels in the first period en route a 6 - 3 victory. They struck first again Saturday but had to wait until the final frame to get the deciding score and take the sweep.
In Arden Hills men's hoops ran just behind the Royals but weren't able to gain any lasting ground on the four-point halftime deficit. The women won as many quarters as they lost but the margin finished with Bethel on top.
🤼 also got out Saturday, with their second trip to Moorhead State this year & they found more success in the semi-familiar confines.
As if the season hadn't been turbulent enough already, Towns strained his calf & is set to miss at least a month. That returns the team to a more standard line-up set but without one of their best shooters the offense will continue to be a nightly struggle & it sets the cohesion process back that much more. It's too early to say it's a lost season but there are indications in that direction...
In their first action after the injury Anthony Edwards came through with the franchises first 25 point/5 assist/5 steal/3 block game. It will be his team for the next stretch so he'll need to find a way to put up those kinds of numbers regularly if they are to stay afloat! They may need even more than all he can provide as it took the statistical anomaly of being out-rebounded by 30 but managing to win.
The women's team also had a bit of news as their schedule was released this week.
Fargo started the two-game week finding out that forward Mac Swanson will be the third member of the current roster to skate with the US Junior Select Team in Ontario later this month. They then went out Friday night to beat Lincoln 4 - 1 with each goal coming off a different stick. The offense dried-up a night later as the Stars finished with a 2 - 1 victory. The split left Fargo three losses & three points better than Lincoln in the standings with each team having 20 games under their belts. League-wide they are only trailing Chicago as the top-three teams.
Reminder that scores and recruiting news are updated regularly so check back often!
Now for this week's highlights
It began with Moorhead's girls turning 32 shots into 5 scores and a route of Elk River. They followed that up with an 8 - 1 win over Wayzata. Good times on the ice continued as South's boys took care of Grand Forks Central 3 - 0 and Davies girls got an OT W against Century. West Fargo also broke through as both their skate squads won big (5 - 1 boys/9 - 2 girls). North's boys had one less shot go in but held Sheyenne to a single goal as well.
Teams are also off & running on the court
Northern Cass got 28 & 9 steals from Haidyn Crockett while Halle Crockett added 21 in a 66 - 46 win over Hankinson/W/L. Their region 1 rivals from Central beat Enderlin 63 - 31 while Kindred had a 51-point win over South. Across the River, Park Christian's boys beat Ashby 65 - 45 while the Falcon girls put a 60-point win on them. Hawley's girls have already notched a pair of victories, each by at least 19 points. The Fertile/Beltrami boys were 29 points better than Badger/Greenbush/Middle River.
On the mat West Fargo United's girls won their first event 39 - 30 over Fargo. West Fargo then proceeded to take first place in Jamestown.
On the boys side, Sheyenne was 69-points better than South while West Fargo beat Wahpeton/Breckenridge by 54. The Mustangs then traveled to Wahpeton and took second in the team standings, 19.5 points behind Lisbon with winners at 120, 126 & 145. In Jamestown Davies was third out of 12 teams.
Which still leaves the biggest news of the week
Thursday the HS Activities Association voted to accept the three-class 🏀 plan and will now go through the process of further vetting and refining it before a vote early next year to approve it for implementation or not.
The weekend also included Barnesville getting it's first State 🏈 Title, 35 - 20 over Chatfield Friday!
The next day D/G/F went for the AAA trophy and but for a play that is rarely accomplished at half-speed in practice they would have succeeded as well!
There was also the release of most of the rest of the Warmups, in case you missed them
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