The Turner Tornado girls basketball team has been playing some inspired basketball lately. First, they took on the Box Elder Bears in a District 9C contest. The girls played really well together and pulled off a comfortable 48-35 win over the Bears. On Saturday, the Tornadoes found themselves in a battle in Fort Benton with both teams being tested until the end.

Against Box Elder, the Turner Tornadoes found themselves in a defensive battle early, trailing just 10-9 after the first quarter. Freshman Abby Grabofsky knocked down a corner three to give the Turner Tornadoes a 12-10 lead with 6:01 remaining in the half. Junior Cassidy Grabosfky got a friendly bounce off the hometown rim for a long two-point bucket. Cassidy Grabofsky then knocked down a straight away three to extend the lead to 17-10, leading to a Box Elder timeout. Senior Hannah Richman went coast to coast off of a nice outlet pass to put Turner up 19-10 with 1:28 remaining in the half. The Tornadoes would go on to lead 20-10 at the break.

The Tornadoes had a 17 point outburst coming out of the third quarter. Junior Meridian Snider tallied seven in the frame while freshman Ali Doyle added five and a triple. The Turner Tornadoes would extend their lead to 36-20 by the end of the third quarter. Snider added seven more to her total in helping the Tornadoes secure a 48-38 win over the Bears. Snider scored 14 points to lead the Tornadoes' attack. Sophomore Bridgette Reed added 12 to the Turner total while Cassidy Grabofsky scored nine, all from downtown.

Saturday night in Fort Benton saw the two teams scrap right from the start. Both teams played strong defense early on until Doyle connected from the right corner for a three-point bucket with 5:55 left in the first quarter to put Tuner on top 3-0. Moments later, Cassidy Grabofski knocked down another triple to put Turner up 10-7 with 1:27 left on the first quarter clock.

Freshman Natalie Richman knocked down a pair of free throws with 2:20 left on the third quarter scoreboard, giving Turner a 25-20 lead. Richman buried two more free throws late in the quarter to send the teams to the fourth quarter with a 27-24 Turner lead. The Longhorns quickly tied the contest 27-27 after three made free throws. The Longhorns then scored four straight, to take their first lead of the contest at 31-27 with 5:25 left on the game clock.

Reed scored down low off of a beautiful pass from Doyle. The Longhorns responded right away with a layup on the other end. Turner continued to fight down the stretch, picking up a couple of long balls from Cassidy Grabofsky, but it wasn't enough as the Longhorns took a 41-37 win over the Tornadoes.

Turner was led on the night by Cassidy Grabofsky with 14 points, including four from beyond the arc. Chamberlain tallied eight points in the contest, while Doyle chipped in 11.

The Tornadoes will next take the court on February 9th against the Hays Lodgepole Thunderbirds. The following night the Tornadoes will travel to Gildford to take on the North Star Knights in the regular season finale. The team will then head to the District 9C Tournament in Havre, February, 14-17.