The Blaine County Journal News-Opinion - We've Got The County Covered

The Turner Tornado boys and girls basketball teams both had a stellar performance at home this past Saturday. The girls picked up their first conference win of the season in racing past the Chester/Joplin-Inverness Hawks 49-37. The boys opened up a big lead early and held on for a 54-48 win over the Hawks to even their overall record at 6-6.

Friday, the Tornadoes were in Fort Benton taking on the Longhorns. The girls were defeated 50-28 while the boys lost to the Longhorns by a score of 51-35.

Turner Girls

Friday in Fort Benton the Tornadoes gave the Longhorns fits early on with their defensive pressure. The Longhorns led just 5-4 at the end of the first quarter and 16-12 at halftime.

The second half was a much different story. The Longhorns had an answer for the Turner defense, scoring 23 in the third to open up a 39-18 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.

Turner held their own in the fourth quarter but the damage was already done leading to a 50-28 Fort Benton win. Senior Dakota Krass led the Tornadoes with 11 points.

Saturday at home, playing in front of a boisterous home crowd the Tornadoes got off to a hot start. Krass scored just seconds into the contest with a nice take on the baseline. She scored again moments later on the low block for a quick 4-0 lead.

Krass later secured the defensive rebound and made a perfect pass down court to freshman Bridget Reed for an easy bucket. Eighth grader Ali Doyle pestered the Hawks all game long with her on ball defense. Doyle made a great play on the ball and coasted in for another layup and a 10-3 Turner lead. Sophomore Meridian Snider finished the quarter with a running one hander off the glass to push the lead to nine, 12-3.

Doyle started the second with another steal at half court and layup to keep the momentum going. Krass showed her toughness in the paint, fighting for the offensive rebound and a bucket. Doyle showed her ability to score in the half court set as well, taking the inbound pass and beating her defender to the basket for an 18-5 Turner lead.

The offense kept rolling and the defense kept getting stops as the game wore on. Snider dropped in a 15' jumper and Krass made a beautiful pass in to sophomore Cassidy Grabofsky in the paint to extend the Turner lead to 24-7.

Turner started the third quarter with a 26-10 lead and never looked back. Turner held a 35-24 lead at the end of three quarters and maintained the advantage the rest of the way to secure their first conference win of the season 49-37 over the visiting Hawks.

Krass led the Tornado attack with 20 points. Doyle played spectacular and scored 11.

Turner Boys

Friday in Fort Benton the Tornadoes started strong, taking a 15-11 lead after eight minutes of action. Fort Benton turned the tables on the Tornadoes in the second to take a 28-22 lead into the break.

Turner struggled mightily in the third scoring just two points and trailed 41-24 as the fourth quarter got underway. The Longhorns maintained the advantage and secured a 51-35 win over the Tornadoes. Sophomore Caleb Zellmer led the Tornadoes with 10 points on the night.

Saturday the Tornadoes started fast against the Hawks. Junior Ryan Doyle got the scoring started with a steal and finish for a quick 2-0 lead. The Hawks responded and scored six to lead Turner 6-4, but the Tornadoes had an answer. Sophomore Tate Beck found senior Charlie Calvert inside for a score and Doyle finished the quarter with a long three to gave Turner a 15-7 lead heading int the second quarter.

The Tornadoes closed out the half strong, getting a couple baskets from Zellmer and Calvert. Zellmer finished the half with a right hand flip in the paint with time running down to put turner up at the half 25-18.

Junior Trent Billmayer drops in a baseline floater to help the Tornadoes open up a big lead early against the Hawks.

Junior Trent Billmayer powered the Tornado attack in the third quarter helping the Tornadoes maintain their lead. Billmayer scored nine in the quarter and the Tornadoes took a 38-33 lead into the fourth quarter.

Turner extended their advantage to 42-33 following a floater in the key from Billmayer, then the game took a twist. Chester/J-I stormed back and cut the lead to 46-45 with 2:32 remaining on the clock.

The Tornadoes showed some composure the final couple of minutes and responded in a big way. Calvert made a solid entry pass into Zellmer on the low block for a score. A couple possessions later Doyle made a cross court pass to Billmayer at the right elbow for a long three. Calvert put the finishing touch on a great night, scoring inside with :12 left to lock up a 54-48 Turner win

The Tornadoes were led on the night by Doyle with 17, Billmayer added 14 and Zellmer finished with 13.