With frantic rally, O'Gorman girls complete Class AA championship repeat over Brandon Valley
Mar. 16—RAPID CITY — On the ropes against a daunting Brandon Valley team, Sioux Falls O'Gorman girls basketball stuck to one plan: win the next possession.
Living in that mindset produced a frantic rally for the ages.
O'Gorman erased a 12-point fourth-quarter lead to successfully defend its Class AA state girls basketball championship, topping Brandon Valley 47-46 at the Summit Arena on Saturday night in a rematch of last year's title game. The Knights also extended their winning streak to 50 games dating back to the 2023 state tournament.
O'Gorman coach Kent Kolsrud's simple message to the players at each stoppage brought a tight-knit group even closer together.
"It was really cool just seeing them realize, 'Okay, this isn't going to be easy, but it's not impossible,'" senior Julia Eggert said. "They did a really good job working together and working hard."
The comeback followed Eggert fouling out with 5 minutes and 52 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter with the Lynx up by 10. Amanda Lease hit both free throws to put Brandon Valley further out in front, but Sydney Terveen immediately followed with a basket to reset the deficit to 10.
O'Gorman picked up the pace and engaged its full-court press, wanting to force the Lynx players to get passes high enough in the air to make a play on the ball. Ruby Moore picked up four of the Knights' five steals in a span of two minutes, keying a 7-0 scoring run and rejuvenating the rest of the roster.
"We had to get the tempo going," said Moore, a sophomore and a South Dakota State University commit. "We had to find ways to score and we never gave up and hung our heads. We kept saying, 'It wasn't over until it's over,' and took whatever shots we could get."
"There's no 11-point play to get back into the game," Kolsrud added. "Whether that's getting a defensive stop, a rebound or attacking the paint on offense, you just kind of keep grinding and playing as hard as we can for 32 minutes and our kids bought into that."
Terveen hit a floater with 1:17 remaining to pull the Knights within two points of Brandon Valley. Following Ava Kellenberger's layup, Moore hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key and immediately stole the ball from Gracie Salter — Moore's sixth of the game — running down the lane and converting the game-winning bucket with 33 seconds left.
"That was a big-time play," Kolsrud said of the sequence. "To have the basketball IQ to be in the right position to go make a steal and then make a clutch basket, (Ruby) is a big-time player: making big plays when we need them badly."
Brandon Valley's last-chance effort fell short with 11 seconds to go following Sadie Mehrman's free-throw misses, as Kellenberger's contested attempts in the post came up short as the buzzer sounded.
The rally preceded the Lynx maintaining the lead from the 2:55 mark in the first quarter through an early fourth-quarter 9-3 run. Alyvia Padgett scored the game's first five points and seven of her team-best 12 points after the opening period of play. Lease finished with 11 points, three assists and three steals and Kellenberger had nine points. Brandon Valley finished as the runner-up for the second consecutive season at 21-3.
Terveen led all scorers with 21 points, going 3-of-6 behind the arc on a night O'Gorman shot only 29.3% from the 3-point line. Moore tallied 14 points with two assists and Eggert had eight points and three rebounds.
Completing its second consecutive perfect season at 24-0 en route to winning the program's third championship in four years, O'Gorman will look to keep the competitive drive that's brought them to the top of the Class AA echelon.
"Coming into this year, we still wanted more," Moore said, "And those streaks don't keep us content. I just hope we can come back and play with as much fire as we did now, even after two years of winning, which I know we will."
Class AA awards
Spirit of Su: Grace Peterson, Sioux Falls Washington
Spirit of Six: Rapid City Stevens High School
All-tournament team: Emery Larson (Pierre), Abby Horner (Sioux Falls Jefferson), Jozie Dana (Spearfish), Addie Siemsen (Mitchell), Taaliyah Porter (Rapid City Stevens), Grace Peterson (Sioux Falls Washington), Dana Harpe (Sioux Falls Washington), Gracie Salter (Brandon Valley), Alyvia Padgett (Brandon Valley), Julia Eggert (O'Gorman), Sydney Terveen (O'Gorman), Ruby Moore (O'Gorman)
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