Strong start fades as Wolverine girls lose to play Gehlen

South O’Brien’s first-quarter advantage over Gehlen Catholic flipped in the second. The Jays capitalized by pushing through to a 59-39 War Eagle Conference win January 27 at Le Mars. With the loss, the Wolverines fell to 0-9 in conference play and to 0-18 overall.
The visitors forged a 14-11 lead after one quarter of play. Gehlen then outscored the Wolverines 17-4 in the second quarter to carry a 28-18 advantage into halftime.
The free throw line was a popular location. South O’Brien toed the line 36 times, resulting in 16 successful tosses. The Jays dropped in 15 of their 28 attempts. From the floor the Wolverines were 10-of-52 for 19 percent. Gehlen shot 32 percent with 20 field goals in 62 tries. South O’Brien was 3-of-12 from beyond the arc and the Jays 4-of-14.
Top scorers for the Wolverines were Taja Conley with 14 points and Abby Nelson with 10. Marissa Ebel added five points, Takara Conley four and Tatiana Conley two. Scoring one point apiece were Shayli Johnson, Addison Hedberg, Chloe Hustedt and Samantha Wilbur. Tatiana Conley led in assists with two.
Ebel and Tatiana Conley each grabbed six rebounds with Taja Conley and Wilbur collecting four apiece. Wilbur also blocked a shot and Taja Conley came away with two steals. The Wolverines limited their turnovers to eight. Gehlen turned the ball over 19 times.
S. O’Brien
14 4 13 8 – 39
Gehlen
11 17 17 14 – 59