No. 4 Ellendale moves up, No. 9 Oakes drops in latest Class B poll

JAMESTOWN — The Ellendale Cardinals boys' basketball team moves up one spot and the Oakes Tornadoes girls' basketball team moves down one spot in the latest North Dakota Associated Press Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Class B basketball polls.

The Cardinals moved up from No. 5 to No. 4 with only one game last week as they beat Edgeley/Kulm-Montpelier 74-70 on Jan. 31 to push their record out to 15-0. The Tornadoes fell more for what teams ahead of them did compared to what they didn’t do. The Tornadoes went 3-0 last week to push their overall record out to 16-2. They flip-flopped with Bowman County who rose from No. 9 to No. 8 thanks to a 3-0 week of their own that included a win over Beulah who was previously receiving votes.

The top team in both polls remains the same as Four Winds-Minnewaukan’s grip on the top spot in the boys' poll remains locked in. In the girls' hoops poll, Thompson remains at No. 1, with a 16-1 record but they are not a unanimous selection this week as Kenmare-Bowbells got one first-place vote.

The Tornadoes are the only local team in the girls poll as Carrington and Kidder County did not garner enough votes to find their way into the top 10. The Cardinals went 1-1 last week with their loss coming to No. 6 Shiloh Christian, pushing their record out to 14-4. The Wolves finished their regular season with a 2-0 week with wins over LaMoure/Litchville-Marion and Ellendale as they now have a 15-3 record.

Full Polls Below: 

11th girls poll:

1. Thompson (16): 16-1, last week 1 
2. Kenmare-Bowbells (1): 17-2, last week 4 
3. Rugby: 16-2, last week 2 
4. Central Cass: 14-3, last week 5 
5. Central McLean: 17-2, last week 3
6. Shiloh Christian: 15-2, last week 6 
7. Garrison: 18-1, last week 7 
8. Bowman County: 18-1, last week 9 
9. Oakes: 16-2, last week 8 
10. May-Port CG: 15-3, last week 10 

RV: Northern Cass (14-4), Carrington (14-4), Kidder County (15-3).
10th boys poll:

1. Four Winds-Minnewaukan (17): 13-0, last week 1
2. Central Cass: 15-0, last week 2
3. Sargent County: 15-0, last week 4
4. Ellendale: 15-0, last week 5
5. Bishop Ryan: 13-2, last week 3 
6. Thompson: 11-3, last week 6 
7. Beulah: 12-1, last week 7
8. Shiloh Christian: 12-3, last week 8 
9. Bowman County: 13-2, last week 10 
10. Grafton: 9-4, last week 9 

RV: North Border (13-2), North Prairie (14-2), Dickinson Trinity (11-5)