By Scott Chrisman
South O’Brien hosted the Alta-Aurelia girls November 22 at Paullina in the season opener for both teams. The visiting Warriors escaped with a 43-41 victory.
South O’Brien led 35-29 early in the fourth quarter and and held a 39-33 advantage with about two minutes remaining. Alta-Aurelia came back to tie the game at 39-all with just over a minute left. The Wolverines answered quickly to move back on top 41-39. A pair of Warrior free throws again knotted the game. With 18 seconds remaining, Alta-Aurelia hit the first of two charity tosses to lead 42-41. South O’Brien missed two shots and then was forced to foul with 1.4 seconds on the clock. The Warriors made the first free throw and missed the second but the Wolverines were unable to get a shot off before the final buzzer.
“I was very pleased with the game,” commented first-year Wolverine head coach DJ Hansen. “Our girls competed hard and played for each other. We did a good job of playing the game at our pace. Some improvements for us would be to limit our turnovers and fouls. We put them on the line too many times with silly fouls.”
South O’Brien shot 27 percent with 16 field goals in 58 tries. The Wolverines were 3-of-12 from three-point range. The Warriors shot just 19 percent (12-of-64) but owned a big edge at the free throw line. Alta-Aurelia attempted 36 free throws and made 19. The Wolverines were 6-of-13 at the foul line.
Alta-Aurelia got 13 points from Nora Peterson and 11 from Lucy Gunkelman. The Wolverines’ balanced attack included Reese Farquhar with nine points, Chloe Hustedt with seven, Addison Hedberg and Lindsey Einck with six apiece, Abby Nelson with five, Marissa Ebel and Abby Woodall each with three and Makenna Wallin with two. Wolverines with two assists apiece were Nelson, Hedberg, Einck, Farquhar and Jaylah Jackson.
South O’Brien finished with a narrow edge on the boards 48-47. Top rebounders were Einck with 13, Farquhar with eight and Jackson with seven. Nelson came away with four steals while Hustedt and Jackson each blocked a shot.
A-A
8 11 8 16 – 43
S. O’Brien
15 6 9 11 – 41