Bulldogs take two from Mustangs

Posted on Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Madison's basketball teams took a pair from Tri-Valley last night in Colton. The Lady Bulldogs won a close game 54-53, while the boys won 72-61 over the Mustangs.

It was a back-and-forth game for the Madison girls as they built up a 31-26 halftime lead. Tri-Valley out-scored the Bulldogs 15-9 in the third quarter to take a 41-40 lead, but a basket by freshman Bailey Milne with less than 20 seconds in the game left gave the Bulldogs the lead for good.

Christa Paul had a double-double for the Bulldogs, scoring 17 points and pulling down 11 rebounds, Kaitlyn Higgins added 12 points, while Milne scored nine. Head coach Mat Nelson says the game came down to which team wanted it more.

For the 1-2 Mustangs, Tara Otto scored 14 points, Tara Zeisler 12, and Tara Van Hofwagen 10.

In the nightcap, Tri-Valley raced out to a 4-0 lead on the second-ranked Bulldogs before Madison went on a 16-7 run to take a 16-11 first quarter lead. Tri-Valley would keep it close early in the second quarter, but Madison posted 37 combined points in the middle quarters to pull away for the win.

Chad White led all scorers with 29 points, while Derrick Wiebe had a double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds. Ryan Steffenson also scored 10 points before fouling out in the fourth quarter. Head coach Mike Ricke says it was a physical ball game for both teams.

Four Mustangs scored in double-figures as Nick Richard scored 15 points. Jace Eckstaine scored 14, while Brennan Welbig and Dan Whipple had 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Madison's girls travel to Lennox on Thursday, while the boys host Lennox on Friday at the DSU Fieldhouse. Both games will be on "Dakota's Best", KJAM.