The Thunder women's and men's basketball teams had their final regular season home weekend of basketball games of the season on Friday and Saturday. The #10 ranked women's team would play host to the Emmaus University Eagles on Friday, a team that they have not played since December 5th. The Lady Thunder would drop that game 55-51. On Friday afternoon, it would be different. The Lady Thunder would take an 11-point lead after the first quarter and never look back. They would hold a steady 42-33 lead at the half and outscore the Eagles by eight in the second half to avenge the early season loss, 87-70. Redshirt-junior, Nekayla Williams would have a double-double with 21 points and 14 rebounds, while three other Lady Thunder players would score in double figures as well. Freshman, Mackenzie Lovett would have 17 points, sophomore, Macayla Hines would have 16 points on 7-8 shooting from the field, and freshman, Tahlia Morris would have 10 points on 4-5 shooting from the field. The Lady Thunder would force 20 Eagles turnovers and out-rebound them 46-29 on the way to shooting 46.8% from the field, 18.2% from the three-point line, and 75.0% from the free throw line.

On Saturday afternoon, the Lady Thunder would face the Eagles of Faith Baptist Bible College. Much like the Eagles of Emmaus, the Eagles of Faith and the Lady Thunder had not played each other in two months. The Lady Thunder would win a close game on December 6th in Ankeny, Iowa, 54-51. The game on Saturday was another close one between the two opponents. The Lady Thunder would trail by 10 at halftime and would cut the Eagle lead to six headed into the fourth quarter. The first lead for the Lady Thunder would be with 1:34 remaining in the game. The Eagles would have three different chances to tie or take the lead down the stretch, but they could not convert as the Lady Thunder defense stood strong. The Lady Thunder would defeat the Faith Eagles, 62-60, and sweep the defending Midwest Christian College Conference Champions on the season. Williams would have 16 points to lead the Lady Thunder in scoring, while Lovett had a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Morris would score 14 points and knock down four three-pointers. Freshman, Jasmine Holloway would chip in with 10 points for the Lady Thunder. The Lady Thunder would shoot 37.5% form the field, 30.0% from the three-point line, and 53.3% from the free throw line. With the two MCCC wins, the Lady Thunder now sit at 12-11 overall and 5-4 in conference play.

The Lady Thunder will be playing their fifth game in seven days on Monday, February 9th on the road against Trinity Bible College in Ellendale, North Dakota at 5:00PM.

The #5 ranked men's basketball team would also play the Emmaus University Eagles on Friday. The Thunder would jump all over the Eagles and lead by as much as 27 in the first half. The lead would be at 25 after 20 minutes for the Thunder with the score at 41-16. The Eagles would battle in the second half and cut the lead down to 10 with 3:54 remaining. The first half deficit would be too much for the Eagles and the Thunder would win the game by a final score of 75-61. Senior, Xavier Lucas and junior, Hunter Hill would have 18 points a piece for the Thunder. Lucas would have a double-double with 13 rebounds, to go along with his 18 points. Junior, James Braddy would chip in with nine points and four assists, while senior, Fred Criqui would have eight points and 12 rebounds. The Thunder would shoot 46.3% from the field, 21.4% from the three-point line, and 63.6% from the free throw line.

On Saturday afternoon, the Thunder would play the Faith Baptist Bible College Eagles. The Thunder fell to the Eagles by two in Ankeny on December 6th and were looking to get that one back. The Thunder and Eagles would be in a back and forth game through the first nine minutes, but the Thunder would find themselves down 10 at the break. The Eagles would extend their lead by as much as 23 in the second half, but the Thunder would fight back to cut the deficit to eight with 1:04. Free throws by the Eagles would close out the Thunder, 116-104. Seven Thunder players would score in double figures. The Thunder would shoot 52.9% from the field, 34.8% from the three-point line, and 68.6% from the free throw line. By splitting the two MCCC games, the Thunder are now 17-8 overall and 7-3 in conference play.

The Thunder will play their final regular season road game on Tuesday, February 10th in Haviland, Kansas against Barclay College at 7:00PM.

How to Follow the Thunder: For complete information and to stay up-to-date with Manhattan Christian College Men's and Women's Basketball, visit www.mccthunder.com and follow the team's social media pages on the Men's X and Instagram and the Women's X and Instagram.