The Lady Thunder Hawks went 3-1 at the 46th Annual Lakota Nation Invitational, earning 5th place in the Girls He Sapa Bracket. Wednesday’s exhibition game vs. Takini the Lady Thunder Hawks held the Lady Sky Hawks to 18 pts in the contest. Final Score 65-18. Thursday’s 1st round the Lady Thunder Hawks were defeated by the Oelrichs Lady Tigers by 5 pts. Final Score 50-55. Friday’s 2nd round game the Lady Thunder Hawks defeated Crazy Horse final score 68-18 and that put them in the 5th/6th place game against the Lady Braves from Cheyenne-Eagle Butte.
The Lady Braves opened up with an exhibition victory over Crazy Horse. Thursday’s 1st round game the Lady Braves came up short with a 2 pt loss to Santee. Friday’s 2nd round game against Takini the Lady Braves were up 50-2 at halftime and ended with a 59-18 victory going into Saturday’s 5th place game.
Tiospaye Topa is a SD Class B school and has yet to make a State Tournament, but the Lady Thunder Hawks led by Sophomore Scorer Pamela Meeter and Jr Forward Lei’Lani Bowker have all the tools to make a run this season. Their season opener the Lady Thunder Hawks were limited to 5 players against a pretty good Timber Lake Lady Panther team. Although they came up short Lei’Lani fought until the last seconds and finished with 28 pts and 18 rebounds. Topa defeated McIntosh in a double header on the road before falling to Faith. The loss put them at (1-2) coming into Lakota Nation.
The Lady Braves have multiple long-range shooters. Senior Tiana Johnson went 4/4 from deep in the Lady Braves’ season opener vs. Mobridge-Pollock. In the Topa/C-EB 5th place game the biggest factor was rebounding. The Lady Thunder Hawks outrebounded the Lady Braves 3 to 1. Pamela had a great game racking up numbers in the stat sheet and playing great defense on C-EB’s shooters. Junior Forward #43 Lei’Lani Bowker was impressive with a game-high 26 pts and earning the KIPI Radio Player of the Game award for the 2nd time of the tournament, and Tiospaye Topa def. Cheyenne-Eagle Butte 51-44, despite a 4th quarter run from the Lady Braves.
Bowker can play all positions and her chemistry with Meeter has carried over from their AAU “Lady Heat” season. The Lady Heat, coached by Pamela’s father Wambli Meeter, has some of the top talent out of Cheyenne-Eagle Butte, Dupree, Wakpala, and Tiospaye Topa varsity teams. Meeter has created a basketball culture that has become widely known in the hoop’s community. Pamela’s older brothers have significantly contributed to the rise of Native Hoops throughout the State of South Dakota and beyond. Jason Meeter a standout for the Crazy Horse Chiefs and Lakota Nation Inv. scoring record holder (54pts in 1 game/145 in Tournament) Kristapher Meeter who is currently a junior SG for the Marty Braves. Cheyenne River hoop fans are excited to see the Lady Thunder Hawks head into the Dakota Oyate Challenge as a heavy favorite. This year’s D.O.C. will be held in Mitchell at the Corn Palace in late January.
The Lady Thunder Hawks are currently (4-3) on the season and their next game is at Newell on Jan 5
The Lady Braves are (2-3) C-EB Double Header scheduled for December 21 at MILLER
