by Benjamin Chase
of the Plainsman
HURON –– The two-time defending state champion O’Gorman Lady Knights showed that they’re a top contender for a third straight title, despite being ranked second in the state, as they ran away from the Huron Tigers for a 59-36 victory Tuesday at Huron Arena.
Huron got the first points of the game as Chloe Carr dropped in a putback, but Ellie Meyer got the next two baskets, first on a post move, then on the backend of the exhausting full-court press by O’Gorman to quickly give the visitors a 4-2 lead.
Ruby Moore sank a corner three for the Knights, but Addyson Knight was fouled for Huron and sank both free throws.
Sydney Terveen then scored six points to lead an 11-0 O’Gorman run to finish the final half of the first quarter. The Lady Knights took an 18-4 lead to the second frame.
The Huron offense began to click in the second half, but, unfortunately, the Lady Knights could not miss from the field.
Moore hit a jumper in transition. Aly Davis got one of two free throws, but O’Gorman immediately answered with a corner three from Terveen.
Meyer made a post move for two, Sadie Mehrman got her first bucket of the game on the backend of a steal, and Terveen knocked in a jumper in transition to give the Knights a 29-5 lead, which led to a timeout from Huron coach Kody Kopfmann with 5:03 left in the first half.
The Tigers would get a basket from Hylton Heinz, her first of the game, and a pair of free throws out of the timeout, but O’Gorman then simply went back to work.
Lucy Koziara got a short basket, then Mehrman hit a three and scored on a layup after a steal to push the lead to 36-9.
Heinz would stop and pop in the lane for two, but Weber used all of the rim before her three went through the nylon to give OG a 39-11 lead.
Jayla Schley was fouled and hit one of two free throws. Moore nailed a wing three, and Heinz responded with a short jumper.
Meyer made a strong move and went to her left hand under the hoop, and Heinz closed out scoring in the first half with a floater in the lane to send the teams to the locker rooms with the visitors holding a commanding 44-16 lead.
Huron’s Hailey Rogers puts up a 3 -pointer against Zoey McEneaney of O’Gorman during their game Tuesday at Huron Arena.
Meyer made a strong move to open the second half, giving O’Gorman a 30-point lead and starting the running game clock. Terveen was able to put in a pair of free throws, and Heinz hit a short jumper off an inbounds pass to keep the lead 30, 48-18.
Terveen got a layup on the backend of a steal, then Carr hit a pair of free throws for Huron.
Meyer was the recipient of strong passing, hitting a short bucket, then Heinz did the same for Knight underneath for a short two. That would be the end of scoring in the third, with O’Gorman leading, 52-22.
Huron had some strong passing to find short buckets, but it was too little too late, as the reserves closed out a 59-36 win for the Knights.
O’Gorman moves to 18-1 behind 15 points from Terveen. Meyer and Moore each added 10 points.
The Tigers fall to 10-9. Heinz led the way with 15 points. Carr had eight points and 10 rebounds.
Despite some early struggles, Coach Kopfmann was pleased with how his team responded, especially to the O’Gorman press.
“I was pleased with how we handled the full-court press tonight,” he observed. “Unfortunately, once we got the ball across half court, we’d relax, and that’s where a lot of our turnovers came.”
The teams split the lower-level action, with O’Gorman taking the junior varsity game, 61-53, and Huron winning the sophomore tilt, 60-51.
Huron closes out the season on Friday on the road at top-ranked Brandon Valley.
Kopfmann wants to see his team take some of the lessons from the loss to O’Gorman into their battle with the senior-led Lynx.
“We battled back. We have to keep getting better. We battled tonight, and I was really happy with the girls tonight,” he said. “We have to build on tonight, Friday, against Brandon.”
O’Gorman 18 44 52 59
Huron 4 16 22 36
O’Gorman (18-1): Lucy Koziara 1 0-0 2, London Backes 1 0-0 3, Hayden Weber 2 0-0 6, Alivia Satter 1 0-0 2, Ruby Moore 4 0-0 10, Sydney Terveen 6 2-2 15, Sadie Mehrman 4 0-0 9, Ellie Meyer 5 0-0 10, Paxtyn Peterson 1 0-0 2. Totals: 25 2-2 59.
Huron (10-9): Addyson Knight 2 2-2 6, Aly Davis 1 2-4 4, Hylton Heinz 7 0-0 15, Chloe Carr 2 4-4 8, Jayla Schley 0 3-4 3. Totals: 12 11-14 36.
FG: OG – 25/56, 45%; H – 12/38, 32%. 3-pt FG: OG – 7/22 (Moore 2, Weber 2, Backes, STerveen, Mehrman); H – 1/9 (Heinz). Rebounds: OG 32 (Moore, Mehrman 5), H 22 (Carr 10). Assists: OG 11 (Moore 3), H 4 (Heinz 3). Steals: OG 18 (Moore 5), H 6 (Davis 3). Turnovers: OG 16, H 21. Fouls: OG 12, H 6.
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