Recap: Thunder Basketball Nabs Three Wins in Final Weekend of Conference Play
The Thunder women's and men's basketball team both traveled up to Ankeny, Iowa to play in their final two conference games of the regular season. The Thunder would face-off with the Emmaus University Eagles and the Faith Baptist Bible College Eagles to close out Midwest Christian College Conference play. On Friday afternoon, the women would battle the Eagles from Emmaus in a neutral site contest. The Thunder would be behind 34-29 at halftime, but would outscore the Eagles 37-17 in the second half to secure the 66-51 victory. This win gave the Thunder their sixth consecutive victory.
Freshman, Elayna Wegner led the way with 20 points on 8-13 shooting from the field and 4-6 from three, to go along with 13 rebounds, five assists, and five steals. Fellow freshman, Austyn Cox would have 15 points, while going a perfect 6-6 from the foul line. Nekayla Williams would also chip in with 14 points and six rebounds. The Thunder would shoot 36.8% from the field, 32.0% from the three-point line, and 100.0% from the free throw line.
On Saturday afternoon, the women would take on the Faith Baptist Bible Eagles, who are receiving vote in the most recent NCCAA Women's Basketball Coaches' poll, to try to extend their win streak. The Eagles from Faith would force 33 Thunder turnovers and end the Thunder's six game win streak by a score of 77-46. By going 1-1 on the weekend, the Thunder finish the regular season with a record of 11-13 and a MCCC record of 6-6.
The Thunder would shoot 33.3% from the field, 20.0% from the three-point line, and 44.4% from the free throw line. Freshman, Macayla Hines would return from injury and score 11 points on 5-7 shooting from the field, to go along with five rebounds and six steals, while Ca'Mya Burns would chip in with seven points in the loss.
The Thunder will be the #4 seed in the MCCC Tournament and will host the #5 seed the Calvary University Warriors in a quarterfinal matchup. This game will be on Thursday, February 20th at 6:00 PM at Howie's Activity Center.
The #4 ranked men would also take on the Emmaus Eagles on Friday afternoon in a neutral site matchup. The Thunder would be in a back-and-forth battle with the Eagles, but would prevail by hitting clutch free throws down the stretch to earn a 92-89 win.
The Thunder would shoot 44.6% from the field, 22.7% from the three-point line, and 77.8% from the free throw line. Five Thunder player would score in double figures, led by junior, Landon Gray who scored 18 point on 6-10 shooting from the field and 3-6 from three and sophomore, Davis Rokey would have a double-double with 18 points and 16 rebounds. The trio of juniors of Jaxon Hurla, Xavier Lucas, and Fred Criqui would score 14, 11, and 10 respectively.
On Saturday, the Thunder would finish up their MCCC regular season schedule with a game against the host, the Faith Eagles. The Thunder would control the game early and hold a 40-31 lead into the half. The Eagles would battle back to cut the deficit to five with 6:40 to play. The Thunder would finish the game on a 17-6 run to close out the Eagles, 78-62. With the two wins in Iowa, the Thunder are now 19-9 overall and finish 11-1 in MCCC play to claim a share of the MCCC Regular Season Title.
The Thunder would force 24 Eagle turnovers, while shooting 47.7% from the field, 33.3% from the three-point line, and 76.9% from the free throw line. Rokey would lead the charge with 16 points, five rebounds, and four steals, while Hurla had 12 points on four made threes, four rebounds, and five assists. Criqui, Gray, and freshman, Tatum Pierce all impacted the game off the bench with a combined 27 points, 10 rebounds, and seven steals. Senior, Micah Lovett would also chip in with 10 points and three steals.
The Thunder will be the #1 seed in the MCCC Tournament and earn a bye into the semi-final round where they will face the winner of the #4 seed Faith Baptist Bible College Eagles and the #5 seed Calvary University Warriors. This game will be on Friday, February 21st at 8:00 PM at Howie's Activity Center.
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