Okoboji beat Boyden-Hull 56-43 on Friday night in Milford. Both teams got off to a slow start in the first quarter, but the Comets would go on a 9-4 run to end the quarter and take an 11-7 lead. That lead would grow to 21-13 but Okoboji scored right before halftime to make it 21-15. The Pioneers came out of halftime a different team and used a 10-1 run to take the lead at 25-22 on a 3-pointer by Brynn Ness with 4:00 left in the quarter. Okoboji would keep the momentum with 3-pointers by Lydia Bunde and Riley Meyer and take a 32-24 lead into the final quarter. A three pointer by Alyvia Plathe would give Okoboji a 38-26 lead but the Comets would hit three straight three pointers of their own sandwiched around a Harper Rabel basket for Okoboji to trim the lead to 40-35. Peyton Schmitz and Rabel would score again for Okoboji to offset another three pointer by Ashtyn Kelderman and Okoboji extended their lead to 44-38. Ava Packebush and Riley Meyer would salt the game away at the free throw line in the final minutes to give the Pioneers the conference victory. Ava Packebush led Okoboji with 11 points to go with 4 rebounds and 7 assist; Riley Meyer also had 11 points to go with 8 rebounds and Harper Rabel added 7 points and 9 rebounds while Peyton Schimtz had 5 points to go with 6 steals. Ashtyn Kelderman led the Comets with 21 points while Elly Moret added 9 points. Okoboji improves to 6-14 on the year while Boyden-Hull falls to 4-14.
Quotes from Coach Adams
“We are really proud of how the girls responded after halftime. We talked about taking care of the basketball, as we had 19 turnovers at half, and also believing that your shots will start to fall, and it was great to see us take those to heart. We did a really good job of answering their run of three pointers in that fourth quarter with some clutch passing and baskets, as well as free throw shooting, where we ended up 14 of 17 in the second half. As is ususal with this group, it was a total team effort. Alyvia came in and got a big steal and layup for us in the first half when we were struggling, and also hit a huge three pointer in the fourth quarter. Brynn contineus to give us great energy and minutes. I thought it was Harper’s best game of the year on both ends of the court; and Ava and Riley were clutch the whole second half, especailly at the end with their free throws. The improvement this group has shown from earlier in the season has been so fun to watch and a testament to how they have stayed together as a team.”
