Okoboji ended their regular season with two straight wins after beating Sheldon 58-29 in Milford on Tuesday night. The Pioneers took control of the game early and never looked back, racing out to a 12-2 lead that would grow to 21-5 at the end of the first quarter. Both teams struggled to do much offensively in the second quarter, as the lead would just grow by one for Okoboji with the Pioneers taking a 30-13 lead into halftime. Okoboji would put the game away with a 12-0 run to start the third quarter and take a 42-17 lead into the final frame. All 13 Pioneer players who suited up would see action and record a stat as Okoboji would win the fourth quarter 16-12 for the 58-29 victory. Harper Rabel led a well-balanced Pioneer attack with 10 points to go along with 7 rebounds; Riley Meyer also scored 10 points; Lydia Bunde added 9 points; Ava Packebush had 9 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 steals; and Brynn Ness led the Pioneers with 8 rebounds. Taya Sudbeck led Sheldon with 9 points. Okoboji celebrated senior manager David Lee and players Courtney Bockman, Lydia Bunde and Ava Packebush before the game. The Pioneers finish the regular season 7-14 while Sheldon finishes 0-19.
Quotes from Coach Adams
“That was a great way to send off our three amazing seniors with our last home game of the year. Courtney, Lydia and Ava have been absolutely amazing servant leaders and given so much to our program, both on and off the court. They have built our culture to a whole new level, and we can’t thank them enough for everything they have done for our program. David joined us this year to keep stats and has done a great job for us. We challenged the girls to come out with energy and they definitely did that from the opening tip. We guarded really well and let our defense create our offense, and when we do that, we are a really good team. Harper has had her two best games of the season these last two home games and is playing really well; Riley hit a couple big threes for us; Lydia was great on both ends of the floor and Ava does what Ava does, controls the game on both ends of the floor and is an extension of the coaching staff on the court; Addison Johnson also had one of her best games and hit a big three early in the game to get us going, and Brynn did a great job attacking rebounds. It has been so much fun to see this group continue to grow through the season and get better every day through their hard work and with how connected they are. We are excited for the postseason and know we have a big challenge vs a very good Spirit Lake team.”
