TMP 56 Abilene Cowgirls 26

Abilene – The Lady Monarchs brought back three starters from a team that went 19-4 a season ago and it showed Friday night in their dominant victory over Abilene.  TMP improved to 9-2 this season with the win in a game that was never close.  The Lady Monarchs got up by as many as 34 points at the end of the 3rd quarter with a 54-20 lead, that led to a running clock in the final quarter.

TMP had three players in double-figures with Sophia Balthazor 18, Jaci VonLintel 12, and Emilee Lane 10. The Cowgirls fell to 3-11 with the loss.  They were led by Jenna Hayes and Claira Dannefer who both finished with 8 points.  They shared the Nex-Tech Wireless Player of the Game Honors.

Abilene Cowboys 47 TMP 43

Abilene – The Cowboys defeated TMP for a second straight season and ended the Monarchs 9 game winning streak Friday night.  Abilene jumped out to a 16-11 lead at the end of the 1st quarter and led by as many as 10 early in the 2nd quarter.  Grant Waite nailed a three-pointer to give the Cowboys a 23-13 lead with 6:21 to play in the first half to cap a 10-2 run but things would change.  The Monarchs switched to a zone defense and Abilene struggled to adjust.  TMP finished the first half on a 17-6 run and led 28-26 at the end of the first half.

Abilene outscored the Monarchs 8-5 in a low scoring 3rd quarter and the Cowboys took a 34-33 lead into the 4th.  Cowboy Senior, Kaleb Becker took over in the final quarter as he scored 10 of his game-high 21 points to help Abilene escape with the victory.  He was the Nex-Tech Wireless player of the Game.  The Cowboys improved to 10-4 with the victory while TMP dropped to 9-3.  The Monarchs were led by Gavin Unrein and Dylan Werth, who each finished with 10 points. Abilene will travel to Minneapolis on Tuesday.