With a sectional opponent behind them and three ranked opponents in front of the them, North Decatur’s Lady Chargers had, by definition, a trap game with Oldenburg Thursday.
Combine that with a Twister team hungry for a win after a game slipped away from them Tuesday, you got a very competitive match played at ND’s Cook Court.
As heard on WRBI, North Decatur held off Oldenburg 34-26 to get its 10th win in 12 games.
Coach Matt Barker’s Chargers led from start to finish but never could put coach Eric Feller’s determined Twisters away.
ND led 12-5 at the first quarter stop with Madi Allen scoring six points for the hosts.
The Charger advantage reached nine early in the second period, but the Twisters cut the deficit to three at the half, 17-14. Ellie Ryan’s seven points through intermission helped keep OA close.
Both teams were starved for offense in the third which saw just four points post on the board. It was 21-14 ND.
The Chargers got up nine one more time in the fourth. OA closed to within five before late free throws helped set the eight-point final, 34-26.
Six of those charity tosses over the final eight minutes came from Allen who finished with a game-high 18 points. Clare Kinker followed with six.
Ryan scored a half-dozen over the last stanza for Oldenburg and claimed a team-best 13 points. Rachel Lamping added four.
The Twisters hit 41 percent from the field and held the Chargers to 29 percent, but it was the ND free throw volume which was the difference. The Chargers outscored the Twisters 12-3 at the line.
ND also won the JV game 56-27. The Chargers got 16 points from Kacey Barker with three 3-pointers and 15 from Sydney Rohls. Sadie Wachsman led OA with 11 and Sara Lamping followed with eight.
We thank North Decatur AD Scott Johnson for the accommodations and hospitality and coaches Matt Barker and Eric Feller for their information and time in our pregame show.