Like store sales, 2-for-1 deals are always popular before the holidays.
But the results for the Carrington basketball teams in a scheduled twinbill with the Thompson Tommies put the Cardinals in a mood for gift returns.
The Division A top-ranked Tommie girls shot lights out in the first quarter with 26 points and rode that wave to a 70-53 win over CHS, and Thompson's boys kept their counterparts from getting an offensive flow going in a 64-35 defeat in the East Gym Thursday night, December 14.
In game one, the Cards didn't necessarily play badly on offense, but were unable to keep pace with a red-hot Thompson floor performance.
The first quarter belonged to the Tommies' Kya Hurst and Addison Sage, as both canned three-pointers for 10 and eight points, respectively, and outdid the Cards' entire offense by themselves. Jordyn Tozer also added a trey for Thompson.
Minus the opening eight minutes, Carrington played more or less an even-up effort with Thompson. Even with the disheartening final score, Coach Andy Braaten found some positives.
"The girls made some good runs in the second and third quarters to cut it to under 10, but Thompson answered both times," Braaten said. "We handled the ball a bit better than we have so far, and also hit some free throws."
In the game, CHS was 10-for-13 from the line. Senior Olivia Threadgold finished with 18 points, and junior Edyn Hoornaert had 13 to go along with six rebounds and two assists.
Madison Johnson had a good game on the glass with 13 rebounds, and Isabel Wendel passed for six assists.
Co-scoring leaders for the Thompson girls were Hurst and Sydney Schwabe with 17, while Tozer had 11 and Sage 10 in the scorebook.
The nightcap put the Cards against the also-unbeaten Tommie boys, and THS was in control from the get-go even though sometimes their offensive execution was lacking at times.
One could credit that to the hard work of the Carrington defense, who weathered their game-long scoring struggle to keep the final tally respectable.
CHS hit only eight field goals in the game, and leading scorer Josh Bickett was responsible for two of those. He did his part from the foul line, however, going 10-for-12 and finishing with 15 points.
As a team, the Cards went 16-for-26 at the stripe, thanks to 23 Thompson fouls in the contest.
Grady Idland came off the bench to hit a pair of three-pointers for six points.
Drew Overby was a factor all over the floor for the Tommies, canning four treys, hitting four other shots and, yes, going 4-for-4 from the line for a game-high 24 points.
Braden Tyce was also in double digits for Thompson with 10 points, with Karter Peterson's nine-point outing just behind. Drew Odenbach also had eight in the Tommies' win.
The Cardinal boys sit at 0-3 in the overall standings and 0-1 in Region 2 play. They took on the HCV Burros last Thursday in the East Gym for a regional clash.
On the other side of the holiday, the Cards will have two western Division A teams invade the Central City. Nedrose comes to the East Gym Thursday night, December 28, followed by Stanley on Friday.
Region 2 Girls Basketball
Thompson 70, Carrington 53
at Carrington
Cgtn. 13 14 18 8 53
Thom. 26 17 13 14 70
Carrington: Olivia Threadgold 18, Edyn Hoornaert 13, Madison Johnson 8, Kacie Rexin 8, Harper Kollman 3, Isabel Wendel 3. Totals: 18-50 FG, 10-13 FT, 10 fouls. Three-pointers: Johnson 2, Rexin 2, Threagdold, Hoornaert, Wendel.
Thompson: Kya Hurst 17, Sydney Schwabe 17, Jordyn Tozer 11, Addison Sage 10, Brenna Martin 7, Jailin Avdem 4, Claire Kolling 2, Andie Schwab 2. Totals: 25 FG, 8-11 FT, 14 fouls. Three-pointers: Schwabe 3, Hurst 2, Sage 2, Tozer.
Carrington Additional Stats
Rebounds: Madison Johnson 13, Hoornaert 6, Threadgold 3, Marah Johnson, Kollman and Wendel 1.
Assists: Wendel 6, Hoornaert and Rexin 2, Madison Johnson and Pazdernik 1.
Steals: Madison Johnson 2, Hoornaert, Kenadie Pazdernik, Rexin, Threadgold and Wendel 1.
Region 2 Boys Basketball
Thompson 64, Carrington 35
at Carrington
Cgtn. 7 8 14 6 35
Thom. 19 14 7 14 64
Carrington: Josh Bickett 15, Grady Idland 6, Maddox McIlonie 4, Grady Shipman 4, Ryder Bickett 2, Drew Matt 2, Aaron Neumiller 2. Totals: 8 FG, 16-26 FT, 11 fouls. Three-pointers: Idland 2, J. Bickett.
Thompson: Drew Overby 24, Braden Tyce 10, Karter Peterson 9, Drew Odenbach 8, Gavin Krogstad 7, Noah Hippen 2, Thomas Schumacher 2, Will Welke 2. Totals: 25 FG, 10-14 FT, 23 fouls. Three-pointers: Overby 4.