South O’Brien snapped a long losing streak December 16 with 43-27 victory over Sheldon in a Saturday matinee played before the home fans in Paullina. The last win for the program came nearly two years ago during the 2021-22 season. Topping the Orabs allowed the Wolverines to improve to 1-7 on the season.
“Our girls were obviously very excited to go get a win for this program,” commented South O’Brien head coach DJ Hansen. “We had a bit of a slow start to the game. Defensively our energy was good we were hustling to the ball but offensively we were still playing timid. However the second quarter we turned it up a bit and started attacking the rim.”
The first quarter ended with the teams tied 9-9 but the Wolverines carved out a 20-12 advantage by halftime. From there, South O’Brien was able to close out the game.
“Addison Hedberg did a great job of leading the way for us,” noted Hansen. “She had 11 points, hit two three-pointers but did a great job of taking command of the offense. Marissa Ebel continues to play extremely hard. Her aggression and strength in the lane is huge for us. Chloe Hustedt also had a big night. She drove to the lane and made some plays at the rim. Defensively we did a great job of taking away their strength and forcing some of their other players to try to make plays. We really focused on Taya Sudbeck. She is a really good player, good ball handler and shooter. We let her get loose for a couple threes but other than that we did a good job of containing her.” Sudbeck wound up with with 11 points.
For the Wolverines, Ebel and Hustedt each finished with nine points. Lindsey Einck and Reese Farquhar scored five points apiece. Abby Woodall added three points and Abby Nelson scored one point. Farquhar was the assists leader with three.
Leading the way on the boards were Ebel with six rebounds and Einck with five. Farquhar and Jaylah Jackson each came away with three steals.
South O’Brien shot 40 percent from the field with 14 buckets in 35 attempts. The Wolverines 5-of-14 from downtown and 10-of-23 at the foul line. They were guilty of 31 turnovers.
Sheldon
9 3 7 8 – 27
S. O’Brien
9 11 12 11 – 43