Girls Game
Okoboji fell 60-53 at Sheldon on Friday night. The Pioneers took an early lead and would build that to 15-6 before a 5-1 run at the end of the first quarter cut the lead to 15-11. The Orabs would tie the game at 17 before Okoboji went on a 9-5 run to end the half and take a 26-22 lead into intermission. Okoboji pushed that lead to 38-28 on a 3-pointer by Ella Stoll but Sheldon answered with nine straight to trim the lead to 38-37. The Pioneers would respond and take a 44-39 lead into the final quarter. Sheldon took their first lead of the game at 47-45 on a three-pointer by Claire Johnson but Okoboji would answer and take a 49-47 lead on a basket by Montana Wilson. Peyton Lode would hit a big three-pointer from the corner to put the Orabs back on top 50-49 and they would not relinquish the lead the rest of the game. Wilson led the Pioneers with 17 points and 8 rebounds, Ava Packebush added 12 points and Ella Stoll chipped in with 11 points. Claire Johnson led Sheldon with 19 points and Maliah Kleinhesselink added 14 points. Okoboji falls to 6-6 on the season while Sheldon improves to 6-6.
Comments From Okoboji Coach John Adams:
Give Sheldon all the credit for this win, they made the plays when they had to and we weren’t able to. We had them down 10 in the third quarter but just couldn’t put them away. Claire Johnson made some big time shots in that fourth quarter and we struggled with their zone. We didn’t do a very good job of putting our girls in position to score with our zone offense and that’s something we definitely need to work on. Definitely a disappointing loss with leading most of the game and we’ve got to learn how to close these types of games.
Boys Game
The Pioneers traveled to Sheldon Friday night to take on the Orabs. The Pioneers started the game with a 16-9 lead at the end of the first and 33-19 going into half. Sheldon cut the game down to nine going into the fourth and the game ended in a 66-63 win for the Pioneers. The Pioneers were led by Lucas Lorenzen’s 37 points. Kaleb Peschong added another 11. Sheldon was led by Shane Brouwer’s 23 points and Blake Radke with 21. Okoboji is now 6-4 while Sheldon drops to 3-7.
Comments From Okoboji Boys Coach Ryan Stumbo:
Give Sheldon a lot of credit tonight. They never quit and hit shots in the second half. They worked hard to affect our rhythm in the second half that cut our lead down and made it a tight game by the end. We did just enough to respond and maintain the lead, and we are proud of our guys for handling the run enough to close out the game. Lucas Lorenzen had another phenomenal game and had some big time plays and efforts late that helped us secure the win tonight.
