Thunder pick up top-10 statement win
ANTHONY CRANE/THE FORUM
Nodaway Valley junior Paige Hanson shoots on Tuesday at St. Joseph Christian.
ST. JOSEPH, Mo.— The Nodaway Valley Thunder were happy after Tuesday night’s 48-38 win over the St. Joseph Christian Lions — but it wasn’t to the level one might think. Sure the Lions were ranked in the top-10, and sure it was at St. Joseph Christian.
But even with all that, it felt like just another win. For past Nodaway Valley teams, it would be a bigger deal — but this version hopes for more.
“The plan is to keep it together, play as a team, and hopefully win (districts),” junior Ava Graham said.
Graham says that she is back to 100 percent and looked every bit of it Tuesday night. The Lions took the early momentum, racing out to a 10-4 lead late in the first quarter. That would be the final moments of the Lions feeling good about their non-conference matchup.
The Thunder chipped away at the lead, starting with a 3-pointer from Sydney Marriott. Paige Hanson added a bucket on the next possession, cutting the deficit to one.
St. Joseph Christian took a timeout after the 5-0 run, drawing up a 3-pointer for Jaci Jorgensen. Nodaway Valley answered with a 3-point play from Graham who scored seven of the team’s 15 first-quarter points.
“It meant a lot to me (to play well) because I didn’t know this, but they were ranked ninth in the state,” Graham said. “We beat them before in the PVI, but it was still nice to beat them again because playing someone over and over and over, you kind of know what they’re going to do.”
The Thunder took control late in the second quarter with a 12-0 run. Paidyn Linville did most of the damage with seven points in the second quarter. Graham scored six, and Hanson added five as Nodaway Valley raced to a 33-22 halftime lead.
Thunder coach Mitch Barnes credits the work they’ve put in defensively this season and Tuesday night as they used multiple defenses to hold the Lions to fewer than 40 points for just the third time this year.
“We started out in a triangle and two, then a zone and three thing that we dreamed up, and then we went with what we call ‘Ava Man’ where we guard four and leave Ava in the lane to help if they get beat,” Barnes said. “We’ve really worked on defense this year and turning that defense into offense.”
Neither team did much offensively out of the break, combining for just 14 points in the third quarter. Graham and Savanna Marriott scored four points each in the quarter.
Nodaway Valley struggled to play clean basketball in the fourth. The Thunder turned the ball over multiple times and were outscored in a quarter for the first time in the game.
“I think in those final moments of the game, we finally calmed down,” Graham said. “Early in the fourth quarter we kept having dumb turnovers on all sides — and I caught the ball with my face.”
Hanson and Linville tied for second on the team with seven points. Sydney Marriott finished with six points, and Savanna Marriott scored the final four.
The Thunder held the GRC’s leading scorer, Chloe Burnham, to just six points. Burnham came into the game averaging 22 points per game. Lexi McDaniel led the Lions in scoring with 14 points.
Nodaway Valley will open district play on Monday with the 2-18 Worth County Tigers. The Thunder beat the Tigers 55-31 back on Jan. 26 in Grant City.
