Girls Game
#14 in Class 3A Okoboji was upset at MOC-FV 54-48 on Friday night. Ella Stoll hit an early 3 for the Pioneers but they then went cold and turned the ball over nine times in the first quarter as the Dutch pulled ahead 9-6 at the end of the first. Both offenses found some better rhythm in the second quarter as Okoboji went on a 9-0 run to take 15-12 lead and later a 22-18 lead but MOC-FV closed the half on a 5-0 run to take a 23-22 lead into halftime. The third quarter was another defensive struggle with the Dutch ending the quarter on an 8-0 run after a 3-pointer by Abbie Mouw. Okoboji would respond in the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run behind back to back 3-pointers by Carly Carstens to take a 45-38 lead with just over 4:00 remaining but the Dutch would respond with a big 3-pointer by Madison Pottebaum off a loose ball to stem the tide and start their own 12-0 run to take control of the game. MOC-FV would salt the game away at the line from there. Montana Wilson led Okoboji with 15 points and 10 rebounds; Ella Stoll added 10 points and 5 rebounds and Carly Carstens score 9 points. Madison Pottebaum led all scorers with 24 points.
Comments From Boji Coach John Adams
Give credit to MOC-FV, they played really hard tonight and were the hungrier team, which goes back to me not having us prepared. Their press bothered us early and kept us out of an offensive rhythm all night. Madison Pottebaum played a great game for the Dutch and her 3-pointer off that scramble in the fourth quarter was a game-changer. We’ve got to do a better job of coaching guarding without fouling as that’s really hurting us right now; you can’t get outshot at the free throw line 28-6 and expect to win games in this league so we need to figure that out. I’m proud of how our girls kept competing and we’ll learn from this and get back after it on Monday at practice.
Boys Game
Okoboji traveled to Orange City Friday to open up their season against the Dutch. Both teams competed hard throughout the night in a tough battle. The Pioneers closed the first quarter with a 15-11 lead. Both teams continued to compete in the 2nd with the half time score being 38-31 Okoboji. The Dutch stormed back in the 3rd quarter to take a 49-43 lead going into the fourth. The Dutch maintained a 51-57 lead with three minutes left before Pioneers battled back to close the game with 61-59 win after crucial free throws from Lucas Lorenzen and Aidan Dahms. The Pioneers were led by Lucas Lorenzen’s 38 points. Kaleb Peschong added another 12 for the Pioneers. The Dutch were led by Klein and Aalbers who both scored 15. Van Kalsbeek added another 14.
Comments From Boji Coach Ryan Stumbo
We were really proud of the toughness and effort we showed tonight collectively as a team. Lucas did a great job setting a tone for us in the first half, and we were proud of our defensive effort and rebounding. Kaleb Peschong hit timely shots for us, and we were committed to doing enough of the little tough things throughout the game that made a difference. We had the maturity to handle runs and kept good focus. We have areas we need to improve, but we are proud of the effort and heart we showed tonight.
