Last week arrived like a lightning bolt for the Mandan girls basketball team.

The Braves, defending state champions six times over, entered the week with a 7-6 record and a No. 5 ranking in the state Class Apoll.

On Tuesday Mandan upended second-ranked Century 60-43, and onFriday avenged an earlier loss to Turtle Mountain 82-53. Both victories were on the Braves' home turf.

The question is, was that wondrous week a single strike, or have the Braves captured lightning in a bottle?

Breanna Levi, Mandan's 5-foot-10 senior center, leans toward the latter theory.

"It was a big step for us. … We came a long way and showed what we can really do,"Levi said. "We showed everyone we can do it again this year. … We're still Mandan."

Levi said she could tell even before the Century game began that something had changed.

"I could see it in my teammates' eyes that something was different that day," she recalled. "We were so intense. Our defense was phenomenal. We came out very hard.Ithink the word for it is we had good intensity that day."

To remain at that level, Levi said intensity is key.

"We can if we come out like that every game. … If everyone comes out and plays hard we can finish the year out well," she said.

Coach Greg Amundson agrees with Levi that last week's two victories weren't just isolated wins.

"I think we turned the corner a little bit," he said. "… It wasn't so much beating Century, but our next practice was absolutely phenomenal. We had a two-hour practice, probably the hardest practice we've had in a couple of years, and there was no complaining."

To Amundson, that's a sign that Mandan is showing the intensity that's required to make the Braves long-established pressing, swarming transition game work.

"What's different is just the intensity of our kids as a whole," Amundson said. "(Last week)Ichallenged them to match AliCollins' intensity in the game.She, in turn, turned around and said, 'Let's match coach's intensity in the game.' … I'm pretty intense when the game starts."

Another plus for Amundson was the way the Braves closed out last week's two games. "We weren't finishing," he said. "We need to finish."

Mandan has four regular season games in which to make that fighting trim a regular feature. Tuesday's game at Minot was weathered out, so the Braves are idle until Monday when they visit the Magic City for the makeup game. The next night they play host to third-ranked Bismarck. They wrap up the regular season on the road, visiting St.Mary's onFeb. 21 and Dickinson on Feb. 24.

Amundson pointed out it's not coincidental that his team turned things around in a radical way. The Braves have done some tinkering in terms of personnel and strategy.

"We always hope to peak at the right time.We want to get better every game,"Amundson said. "We've changed personnel and we've changed presses to adjust to what's going on. We've had kids improve and that's part of the fun of coaching."

Levi said there are reasons it's taken the Braves more than half a season to jell. It begins with the loss of four starters from last year's championship team. Collins, a returning all-state guard, is the only veteran starter.

"Our team is completely different this year,"Levi said. "Ali Collins is one of our tallest players, and she's our point guard. We don't have height, so we've had to adjust to what it takes to win. …We've finally figured out what we have to do to win."

That, in turn, has bred confidence.

"Icould see much more confidence," Levi said. "… We really worked as a team. It's been hard for us to get used to varsity basketball and come together as a team."

Amundson said he's added several twists to the defense as the year has gone along to adapt to the lack of size.

"We're changing things up. We're running man-to-man, zone and back to man-to-man.We're changing the way we do things a little bit and the kids have responded to that," the coach said. "… Now teams have to counter five different presses instead of just one."

Amundson said things have also changed on the offensive end. "Our kids are becoming more patient in the halfcourt offense, which they have to do," he said.

As the regular season winds down, Amundson is looking for someone to step in and fill an important role.

Five-foot-seven senior Brooke Sandau, who missed most of the last two seasons due to knee injuries, reinjured a knee onFriday. Her status is up in the air. She was averaging 4.8 points and 3.3 rebounds as one of the first players off the bench.

"She's in rehabilitation and trying to get back,"Amundson said. "…We'll just have to overcome. Hopefully the program is set where those things don't cause you to go into a tailspin. We want to keep flying high.I'm very excited about our team."

WESTREGIONLEADERS

BOYS

Scoring

Name Points Avg

Joe Hanstad,Dickinson 305 25.4

Brent Qvale, Williston 297 21.2

JalenFinley,Bismarck 241 17.2

Bryan Kielpinski, Mandan 255 17.0

Tanner Harris, St. Mary's 218 16.8

Andrew Crosby, Minot 211 16.2

JustinKlabunde,St. Mary's 207 15.9

Andrew Peterson, Jam. 186 15.5

Ryan Huber,St. Mary's 186 14.3

Jordan Thilmony, Mandan 213 14.2

3-pointers

Name 3-pointers

Peter Pomonis, Century 32

Jordan Thilmony, Mandan 29

Justin Klabunde, St. Mary's 28

Andrew Peterson, Jamestown 28

Tyler Eiken, Williston 25

Rebounds

Name Reb. Avg

Brent Qvale, Williston 173 12.4

Tanner Harris,St. Mary's 124 9.5

Dexter Werner,Bismarck 82 8.2

BryanKielpinski, Mandan 116 7.7

Jalen Finley, Bismarck 106 7.6

Assists

Name Assists Avg

Jarl Abrahamson,Dickinson 74 6.7

Jordan Piatz, Jamestown 54 4.5

Joe Hanstad,Dickinson 46 3.8

Shawn Egge, Williston 52 3.7

Jordan Thilmony, Mandan 52 3.5

GIRLS

Scoring

Name Points Avg

Sasha Golus, TM 245 20.4

AliCollins, Mandan 267 19.1

Morgan Dale, Jamestown 203 16.9

SarahFeeney, Bismarck 151 16.8

Kelsey Sigl,Bismarck 208 16.0

Madi Buck,Century 197 14.1

Kristi Mielke, Jamestown 163 13.6

Mariah Marcellais,TM 127 12.7

Carlie Buechler, Bismarck 140 11.7

Jordan Allard,TM 137 11.4

Steph Pedersen,Mandan 160 11.4

Carli Peterson,Century 159 11.4

3-pointers

Name 3-pointers

Jordan Allard,TM 24

Brie Lynch, Dickinson 21

AliCollins, Mandan 19

Mariah Marcellais, TM 16

Brooke Winson, Jamestown 14

Rebounds

Name Reb. Avg

Sasha Golus,TM 115 9.6

Morgan Dale, Jamestown 114 9.5

Jezzarae Larocque,TM 110 9.2

Ali Collins,Mandan 102 7.3

MadiBuck,Century 102 7.3

Assists

Name Assists Avg

Morgan Dale, Jamestown 55 4.6

Erika Jossart,Century 53 3.8

Carlie Buechler, Bismarck 40 3.3

AliCollins, Mandan 46 3.3

Melanah Poole, Minot 30 3.0