Final score was 47-40.

 

Head Coach Paul Lindsay described the game beforehand as being quite a challenge for his squad, seeing the Thunder (8-6, 3-1) roll into Becker (5-4, 3-1) on a three-game winning streak. 

 

Right from the opening tip-off, Lindsay could be heard yelling “sprint” to her team as they retreated to their own end while using their sweeping arms to knock balls out of the opposing hands and prevent easy layups.

 

Maesyn Theisen - an eighth-grader - was especially impressive as she hounded her opponent and pilfered the ball on numerous occasions, while scoring six points in the win. 

 

On offense, the Bulldogs didn’t have any one player govern the floor, but spread the ball around evenly and got scoring from eight different players. Amanda Lindsay led all Bulldog scorers with nine.

 

Zimmerman’s Lexi Funaro -  who averages over 17 points a game -  was held to just 12 in the loss.

 

The Bulldogs jumped out to an early lead in the first half, only to see the Thunder rally and take a lead many thought they’d manage the rest of the way. But Lindsay’s team kept chipping away and the “D” sparked several runs in which the Bulldogs inched closer as time wound down in the first half.

 

Heading into the locker room tied at 24, Lindsay had to have been extremely pleased with how well his team was playing and little did he know it was about to get better.

 

The teams began the second half by exchanging baskets up and down the court until Becker pulled away at the 31-30 mark. The Bulldogs went on to score eight straight points before Zimmerman finally found the twine at the 9:26 mark. Becker’s lead of 39-32 was precarious as the Tunder began to chip away at the lead and brought it to within three at 41-38 with just a little over three minutes left.

 

But that’s when Lindsay’s team turned up the heat.

 

For the final few minutes of the match, Theisen — along with Whitney Raygor, Carlee Kobow and Ashley Neuwirth — pressured the Thunder ball handlers and caused them to mishandle passes, make errant throws and miss contested shots from 10-feet out to put the clamps on the visiting team.

 

The Bulldogs pulled away by scoring six of the game’s last eight points to pull out the victory.

 

Bulldog Scoring: Lindsay 9, Mauren Theisen 7, Marikate Wegeleben 7, Maesyn Theisen 6, Allison Cieslak 6, Neuwirth 6, Kobow 4 and Raygor 2.

 

Thunder Scoring: Funaro 12, Brooke Borchardt 6, Kaitlyn Mason 5, Cami Bond 4, Madaline Jacob 4, Abby Wiseness 4, Danielle Williams 3 and Jami Schuster 2.

 

A rematch of the Becker/Thunder game is on the calendar for Feb. 18 at Zimmerman High School.