The Sioux Falls O'Gorman girls' basketball team ran into icy roads on the trip to Aberdeen and icy shooting conditions in Golden Eagles Arena.
The Knights tallied just two field goals in the opening 11 minutes of the game. Aberdeen Central skated to a 46-30 non-conference win over O'Gorman in high school girls' basketball.
The Golden Eagles led 13-3 after one quarter and pushed the margin to 26-6 with 2 minutes remaining before halftime.
"We ran the floor really hard in the first half," said Aberdeen Central post Samantha Knecht. "We caught them off guard by the speed of our game. We got a lot of offensive rebounds and a lot of second opportunities. We worked really well together and made the extra passes."
The Knights finished the second period with a flourish scoring six straight points but still trailed 26-12.
"At halftime we talked about never giving up," said O'Gorman coach Kent Kolsrud. "It was a rough first half. Give Aberdeen Central credit. They played a really good half. We had 16 more minutes to try to get back in the game. We talked about one possession at a time. Get a stop and get a basket."
The roles were reversed in the third quarter as the Golden Eagles got just one field goal and the Knights started to find the range.
"We had some fatigue," said Central girls' coach Dawn Seiler. "We've shot the ball pretty well this season. You saw some kids with tired legs. You have to find ways to win when you don't shoot the ball well. There are nights like that. You have to give them credit. It's the first time we've seen any zone. I don't think we did a good job of attacking gaps. We didn't move well without the basketball tonight."
The basket on the west end of the arena gave up just nine field goals in the entire game.
O'Gorman's Allie Kneip hit a field goal to whittle the deficit down to eight points at 35-27 with six minutes remaining. Central's Brynn Flakus hit back-to-back field to goals to push the margin back to 12 points. Jessica Mieras hit a field goal to put the Knights back to a 10-point deficit.
"Brynn got rolling a little bit," said Seiler. "She's one of those players that have to stay active. It seems we go, as Brynn goes. I remember saying a couple of times, 'We need a stop now.' We got those stops. The kids dug in."
Central sealed the win with two free threes and three-pointer by Maddie Goetz and a Knecht steal and layup. Knecht finished with a game high 21 points.
"Sami had a monster game," said Seiler. "She made so many things happen because she would draw double teams. She hit the boards. She was moving. Any time you get that many put-backs, that puts a lot of pressure on the other team. When you have kids like Sami and Sarah (Niederbaumer) and Brynn, who are good on the boards, they will recreate second opportunities."
Flakus finished with 10 points and Niederbaumer grabbed up 12 rebounds as the Eagles outrebounded the Knights 44-21.
"Early in the game their big girls did an excellent job of running the court," said Kolsrud. "They got some easy baskets. They have some nice post players inside that gave us some trouble. We made a few adjustments and settled in a little bit but it was just too much to overcome."
Mieras led O'Gorman with nine points.
Knecht went to the bench in the second quarter with her second foul but Seiler put her back out on the court in the second quarter.
"She's a senior and a smart kid," Seiler said. "She looked at me and said, 'I won't foul,' She's the kind of kid you trust. You worry about foul trouble and you hate to lose somebody. At the same time we're losing minutes with her on the bench."
Knecht lobbied for more playing time despite the foul trouble.
"I told her (Seiler) that I promised I would play smart and I wouldn't get another foul," said Knecht. "I said, 'You can't just make me sit here the whole second quarter. You have to let me go back in.' "
Aberdeen Central returns to action on Saturday at Yankton in an Eastern South Dakota Conference game.
|VARSITY|
SIOUX FALLS O'GORMAN: Allie Kneip 2-5 0-2 4, Dalee Stene 1-4 1-2 3, Clarie Howes 1-3 0-2 2, Paige Lefstedt 1-2 1-2 3, Jessica Mieras 4-10 1-4 9, Kylie Lamberty 0-1 0-0 0, McKayla Hermanson 1-2 0-0 2, Peyton Bjorkman 1-2 1-2 3, Rachel Townsend 1-1 0-0 2, Kate Cartwright 0-4 2-4 2. Totals 12-34 6-18 30.
ABERDEEN CENTRAL: Kelsey Hannigan 1-8 1-2 3, Samantha Knecht 6-11 9-11 21, Brynn Flakus 4-12 2-2 10, Leah Beringer 0-7 0-0 0, Sara Niederbaumer 1-6 1-2 3, Maddie Goetz 2-2 24- 7, Brianna Kusler 0-3 2-4 2. Totals 14-49 17-25 46.
S. F. O'Gorman (2-2)|3122430
Aberdeen Central (3-0)|13263346
3-point field goals - O'Gorman 0-3 (Kneip 0-1, Stene 0-1, Cartwright 0-1); Aberdeen 1-14 (Hannigan 0-6, Flakus 0-2, Beringer 0-5, Goetz 1-1). Fouled out - None. Total fouls - O'Gorman 18; Aberdeen 14. Rebounds - O'Gorman 21 (Mieras 4, Bjorkman 4); Aberdeen 44 (Niederbaumer 12). Turnovers - O'Gorman 16; Aberdeen 13. Assists - O'Gorman 3 (Townsend 2); Aberdeen 5 (Beringer 2). Steals - O'Gorman 8 (Kneip 4); Aberdeen 6 (Flakus 3). Blocked shots - O'Gorman 0; Aberdeen 2. Officials - Landon Arnold, Scott Katus, Bo Beck.
|JUNIOR VARSITY|
SIOUX FALLS O'GORMAN: Kylie Lamberty 1 1-4 3, McKayla Hermanson 1 0-0 2, Peyton Bjorkman 2 0-1 4, Rachel Townsend 6 0-0 13, Katie Messler 2 2-3 6, Megan Ekern 2 0-0 4, Kate Cartwright 3 3-4 10. Totals 17-44 6-12 42.
ABERDEEN CENTRAL: Morghan Waage 3 1-2 7, Sydney Waterman 1 0-0 2, Erica Shields 0 1-2 1, Kaytlynn Kingsriter 1 1-6 3, Sydney Johnson 1 0-0 2, Lauren Schmacher 3 2-2 8, Ashley Hellwig 1 0-0 2, Emily Miller 1 0-1 2, Kaylee Kappes 0 2-2 2. Totals 11-31 7-18 29.
S.F. O'Gorman|7142942
Aberdeen Central|271729
3-point field goals - Townsend, Cartwright. Total fouls - O'Gorman 11; Aberdeen 19. Rebounds - O'Gorman 30 (Cartwright 7); Aberdeen 28. Turnovers - O'Gorman 13; Aberdeen 22.
|SOPHOMORE|
SIOUX FALLS O'GORMAN: Natalie Hartung 2 0-0 4, Katie Kunkel 3 2-4 8, Hadley Zeigler 2 2-4 6, Jenna Helgeson 4 2-4 10, Samantha West 1 1-2 3, Molly Carlson 2 0-0 4, Emily Kolbeck 1 1-2 3, Emma Hertz 1 2-2 4. Totals 16-39 10-18 42.
ABERDEEN CENTRAL: Jamie Larson 6 2-4 16, Emily Miller 0 5-8 5, Brianna Kusler 1 1-2 3, Maddie Goetz 0 2-9 2, Sydney Johnson 1 0-0 2, Lauren Schumacher 3 2-4 8, Kaylee Kappes 1 0-0 2. Totals 12-28 12-27 38.
S.F. O'Gorman|10232742
Aberdeen Central|5132438
3-point field goals - Larson 2. Total fouls - O'Gorman 20; Aberdeen 16. Rebounds - O'Gorman 26 (Zeigler 6); Aberdeen 24 Schumacher 5). Turnovers - O'Gorman 19; Aberdeen 18.
Highmore-Harrold 55
Jones County 38
|Non-conference at Highmore|
JONES COUNTY: Rachel Buxcel 1 0-0 3, Emiley Nies 1 0-0 2, Becky Bryan 2 0-0 4, Madi Mathews 2 1-1 6, Julie Joseph 1 0-0 2, Kalli Hespe 6 2-7 17, Garline Boni 1 2-2 4. Totals 14 5-10 38.
HIGHMORE-HARROLD: Elizabeth Buchholz 3 0-0 7, Courtney Keller 6 2-3 15, McKenzee Zilverberg 6 1-1 14, Tyann Hamlin 2 0-4 4, Sydney Cowan 4 1-3 9, Rachel Houdek 2 0-2 4, Kari Huber 1 0-0 2, Makayla Kroeplin 0 0-1 0. Totals 24 4-14 55.
Jones County (3-1)|10172838
Highmore-Harrold (5-0)|11274755
3-point field goals - Buxcel, Mathews, Hespe 3, Buchholz, Zilverberg, Keller. Fouled out - Bryan. Total fouls - Jones County 19; Highmore-Harrold 18. Rebounds - Jones County 26 (Bryan 8, Mathews 6); Highmore-Harrold 33 (Zilverberg 9, Cowan 6). Turnovers - Jones County 24; Highmore-Harrold 23. B Game - Highmore-Harrold 34-30.