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RAPID CITY — A Ruby Moore mid-range jumper with 28 seconds left and a pair of London Backes free throws with 3.8 ticks on the clock helped the No. 2 O'Gorman girls basketball team survive a scare from No. 3 Sioux Falls Washington with a 66-62 win in the SDHSAA Class AA state semifinals.
Moore's shot came with the Lady Knights holding a 62-60 advantage and the shot clock running low. It was basically a dead possession, and the junior point guard made something out of nothing to give her team the lead it needed.
"I thought our kids were resilient," O'Gorman head coach Kent Kolsrud said. "We fought adversity. When we had some foul trouble, we just kept battling."
Ella McKean got a putback layup to make it a two-point game with six seconds to go, then it took a couple seconds to foul Backes. The sophomore stepped to the line and delivered two free throws to give her team a chance at three state titles in a row.
Washington got down 18-4 midway through the first quarter, then clawed its way back to make it a 20-18 game through one. The Warriors never led in this one, but settling in was key to the initial comeback.
"We just needed to be composed," Washington head coach Jamie Parish said. "The thing that we told our kids was we prepared you for this. We just need to execute."
The Warriors stayed in it thanks to some lopsided rebounding numbers. They grabbed 45 rebounds to O'Gorman's 23, with 19 offensive boards to the Lady Knights' 18 defensive.
"Rebounding was a critical factor," Kolsrud said. "Give credit to Sioux Falls Washington, they had some really big boards. They are just tough, they're physical in there."
O'Gorman had to gut this one out, especially with Washington looking for some revenge. The Warriors lost the first two matchups with O'Gorman this year by a combined 73 points.
"I feel like we did a good job of responding in the second half even though we weren't up as much as we wanted," Moore said.
"Every time we'd come out of a timeout someone would ask how much we want it, and that would get us to fight harder to get to the championship," Sydney Terveen added.
Parish was disappointed in the loss, but thrilled his girls were able to make the adjustments needed to put a scare in the two-time defending state champions.
"I'm really proud of not only what happened today, but how they got here," Parish said. "This is the third time time we played them. The first time we were on the wrong side of it. The second time we had the lead going into halftime, and minus a three-minute stretch in the third quarter we played even with them. To evolve to show up at the state tournament, playing under the big lights, with a fairly young group of kids is really impressive."
Moore scored a game-high 23 points, Terveen added 15 points, Ellie Meyer had 11 points, Backes chipped in with 10 points and Sadie Mehrman recorded seven points and four blocks.
O'Gorman gets to play No. 1 Brandon Valley for the third year in a row in the Class AA state championship game. That tip is set for 6:45 p.m. MT/7:45 p.m. CT on Saturday, March 14.
Washington was led by Dana Harpe, who didn't have her most efficient game. The star senior scored 15 points on 4-for-17 from the field, to go with 15 rebounds.
She has left her mark on the program, and Parish always appreciated her competitiveness and leadership skills, especially this season with a younger roster around her.
"She's just a great teammate," Parish said. "The kids love her, how she talks to her teammates, how she carries herself. No excuses. Plays hard offensively, plays hard defensively. Just a really special kid. Even if she wasn't a basketball player, she's a special kid. Add that to the fact she's a great player for us, I just love her to death."
Senior Rylan Kennett also added 10 points for Washington, Layle Berte contributed 10 points and six rebounds, Josie Biteler had eight points and McKean had seven points.
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: O'Gorman girls basketball tops Sioux Falls Washington in state semis
Continue reading...
Moore's shot came with the Lady Knights holding a 62-60 advantage and the shot clock running low. It was basically a dead possession, and the junior point guard made something out of nothing to give her team the lead it needed.
"I thought our kids were resilient," O'Gorman head coach Kent Kolsrud said. "We fought adversity. When we had some foul trouble, we just kept battling."
Ella McKean got a putback layup to make it a two-point game with six seconds to go, then it took a couple seconds to foul Backes. The sophomore stepped to the line and delivered two free throws to give her team a chance at three state titles in a row.
Washington got down 18-4 midway through the first quarter, then clawed its way back to make it a 20-18 game through one. The Warriors never led in this one, but settling in was key to the initial comeback.
"We just needed to be composed," Washington head coach Jamie Parish said. "The thing that we told our kids was we prepared you for this. We just need to execute."
The Warriors stayed in it thanks to some lopsided rebounding numbers. They grabbed 45 rebounds to O'Gorman's 23, with 19 offensive boards to the Lady Knights' 18 defensive.
"Rebounding was a critical factor," Kolsrud said. "Give credit to Sioux Falls Washington, they had some really big boards. They are just tough, they're physical in there."
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O'Gorman had to gut this one out, especially with Washington looking for some revenge. The Warriors lost the first two matchups with O'Gorman this year by a combined 73 points.
"I feel like we did a good job of responding in the second half even though we weren't up as much as we wanted," Moore said.
"Every time we'd come out of a timeout someone would ask how much we want it, and that would get us to fight harder to get to the championship," Sydney Terveen added.
Parish was disappointed in the loss, but thrilled his girls were able to make the adjustments needed to put a scare in the two-time defending state champions.
"I'm really proud of not only what happened today, but how they got here," Parish said. "This is the third time time we played them. The first time we were on the wrong side of it. The second time we had the lead going into halftime, and minus a three-minute stretch in the third quarter we played even with them. To evolve to show up at the state tournament, playing under the big lights, with a fairly young group of kids is really impressive."
Moore scored a game-high 23 points, Terveen added 15 points, Ellie Meyer had 11 points, Backes chipped in with 10 points and Sadie Mehrman recorded seven points and four blocks.
O'Gorman gets to play No. 1 Brandon Valley for the third year in a row in the Class AA state championship game. That tip is set for 6:45 p.m. MT/7:45 p.m. CT on Saturday, March 14.
Washington was led by Dana Harpe, who didn't have her most efficient game. The star senior scored 15 points on 4-for-17 from the field, to go with 15 rebounds.
She has left her mark on the program, and Parish always appreciated her competitiveness and leadership skills, especially this season with a younger roster around her.
You must be registered for see images
"She's just a great teammate," Parish said. "The kids love her, how she talks to her teammates, how she carries herself. No excuses. Plays hard offensively, plays hard defensively. Just a really special kid. Even if she wasn't a basketball player, she's a special kid. Add that to the fact she's a great player for us, I just love her to death."
Senior Rylan Kennett also added 10 points for Washington, Layle Berte contributed 10 points and six rebounds, Josie Biteler had eight points and McKean had seven points.
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: O'Gorman girls basketball tops Sioux Falls Washington in state semis
Continue reading...
