After suffering back-to-back losses, the Tri-Valley Mustang girls got a big victory over the Andes Central/Dakota Christian Thunder at the DSU Classic in Madison on Saturday, January 16th.  The Mustangs won 63-41.

The Thunder had a small 4-2 lead very early in the game, but the Mustangs went on a 8-0 run for a 10-4 advantage.  It was a lead they would not lose in the game, but the Thunder did threaten in the third quarter.

Tri-Valley was able to push their six-point lead to nine by the end of the first quarter at 16-7.  The lead grew to 17 points, 24-7, at the 3:25 mark.  The Mustangs held a 31-18 lead at halftime.

The Thunder made a run in the third quarter.  They got within five points at 33-28 with 2:51 to play in the quarter, but Tri-Valley was able to push the lead back to 10 points by the end of the third quarter, 43-33.  The Mustangs then outscored the Thunder 20-7 in the final quarter to secure the win.

Tri-Valley was 37% (23-62) from the field, 32% (10-31) from three-point area, and 70% (7-10) from the free-throw line.  They had a total of 43 team rebounds, 14 assists, 11 steals, and turned the ball over 14 times.

Steph Buchmann had 16 points and four rebounds for the Mustangs.  Blayne Gacke had 15 points and 11 rebounds.  Tabor Teel finished with 11 points, six assists, and five rebounds.  Kaitlyn Mohnen added eight points and eight rebounds.

Tri-Valley (5-4) will travel to Dakota Valley High School to play the Panthers on Friday, January 22nd.

Playing in their third straight road game, the Tri-Valley Mustang girls basketball team lost to a tough Tea Area Titans team 63-39 on Tuesday, January 12th.

The Mustangs couldn’t get much of their offense working in the game.  Tri-Valley finished the game shooting just 30% (15-50) from the field, 25% (3-12) from three-point area, and just 35% (6-17) from the free-throw line.  Tea Area was 43% (21-49) from the field and 74% (14-19) from the free-throw line.

The Titans led from start to finish in the game.  They had an 18-9 lead at the end of the first quarter and then a 31-20 lead at halftime.  Tea Area really put the game away in the third quarter when they outscored the Mustangs 22-11.

Tabor Teel finished the night with 10 points and five rebounds.  Steph Buchmann had six points, four rebounds and three steals.  Ava Pearson had six points.  Lauren Grinde and Kaitlyn Mohnen both had five points and six rebounds.

Tri-Valley (4-4) will get to host Beresford in their first home game since before Christmas.  The Mustangs will play the Watchdogs on Friday, January 15th in a girls and boys double-header.

The Tri-Valley Mustang girls and boys basketball teams traveled to Mt Vernon to play the Mt Vernon/Plankinton Titans on Thursday, January 7th in a double-header.  The girls fell to the Titans 50-33, while the boys came home with a 74-71 overtime win.

The Mustang girls had a couple of leads early in the game.  Tri-Valley got out to a 9-3 lead with 3:33 to play in the opening quarter, but the Titans ended the quarter on a 9-2 run to lead 12-11.  Tri-Valley again had a 15-14 lead early in the second quarter, but Mt Vernon/Plankinton went on a 9-0 run and did not trail again in the game.  The Titans led 27-20 at halftime and 40-27 at the end of the third quarter.

Tri-Valley only shot 29% (14-48) from the field in the game, 29% (6-21) from three-point area, and 3-4 from the free-throw line.  The Mustangs had 29 team rebounds, but also had 20 turnovers.

Tabor Teel finished with 18 points, six rebounds, and two assists.  Steph Buchmann had seven points and four rebounds.  Lauren Grinde and Blayne Gacke both had six rebounds each.

The Tri-Valley boys got a layup from Bryce Kienast with just :02 on the clock to tie the game against the Titans, and then ended the game on an 8-0 run in overtime for a 74-71 win.

The Mustangs struggled a little bit offensively, but made up for it by forcing 48 Mt Vernon/Plankinton turnovers with 25 of those on steals.  Tri-Valley was just 34% (28-82) from the field, 17% (5-30) from three-point area, and 41% (13-32) from the free-throw line, but the relentless full court pressure defense helped them get the victory.

The Titans led at the end of the first quarter by a score of 22-16.  They then started the second quarter on a 5-0 run and led 27-16.  The Mustangs were only able to cut the lead down by one by halftime and trailed 38-28.  Tri-Valley was able to get within four points by the end of the third quarter at 52-48, but Mt Vernon/Plankinton started the fourth quarter on another 5-0 run to lead 57-48 with 7:00 to play in regulation.

Tri-Valley led 63-62 with 1:30 to go, but the Titans got the next three points to go ahead 65-63.  Mt Vernon/Plankinton beat the full court pressure in the final seconds, but missed two layups.  Tyler Johnson got the defensive rebound and the ball got into Kienast’s hands for the game-tying layup with :02 to play.

The Titans again got out in front early in the overtime period.  They scored the first five points for a 70-65 lead with 2:15 to play.  Each team made a free-throw, and the score was 71-66 in favor of the Titans with 1:58 left in the game.  The Mustangs got the go-ahead three-point shot by Lance DeWitt in the middle of the 8-0 run to end the game.

Riley Haynes had 25 points, six rebounds, and six steals.  Kienast had 17 points and eight steals.  Johnson also had 11 points, seven rebounds, three steals, and three assists.  Nick Haas had seven points and six steals.  Owen Besmer had a team-high 10 rebounds.

Both the girls and boys will play Tea on Tuesday, January 12th, but at different locations.  The girls (4-3) will play in Tea, while the boys (3-3) will host Tea Area.

Having not played a game since December 22nd, the Tri-Valley Mustang girls basketball team looked sharp in their first game in two weeks at Baltic on Tuesday, January 5th. The Mustangs beat the Bulldogs 66-39.

Tri-Valley was on fire to start the game getting out to a 22-5 lead by the end of the first quarter. This was a lead they would never lose. Baltic cut the lead by a point in the second quarter as Tri-Valley led 35-19 at halftime.

Baltic did make a run in third quarter.  The Bulldogs cut the Mustang lead down to nine points at 38-29 with 2:45 to play in the quarter.  Tri-Valley ended the final minutes of the quarter on a 6-2 run to push the lead back to 13 points at 44-31 heading into the final quarter.  The Mustangs then held Baltic to just eight points while scoring 22 to end any rally by Baltic.

Tri-Valley was 41% (24-58) from the field, 25% (5-20) from three-point area, and 54% (13-24) from the free-throw line.  The Mustangs also out rebounded the Bulldogs 37-22 and forced 20 Baltic turnovers, 11 of those on steals.

Tabor Teel led Tri-Valley with 28 points, eight rebounds, and three steals.  Lauren Grinde had 13 points and six rebounds.  Hillary Hastings finished with nine points and seven rebounds.

The Mustangs (4-2) will travel to Mt Vernon to play the Mt Vernon/Plankinton Titans on Thursday, January 7th.