The Lady Eagles, coming off a close win against Hill City on January 21, looked to repeat their win performance against Oakley at home on January 31. Unfortunately, an overtime challenge added one to the loss column for the home team.
For the most part, the Lady Eagles held their own during the first two quarters, which ended, 28-23, Trego. In the third quarter, however, the girls’ offensive game lagged as they allowed Oakley to outscore them by 5-12, which gave the Plainsmen a 33-35 lead. With seconds left in the final period, and with Trego holding on to a three-point lead, Oakley sunk a trey, which took the game into overtime.
Then the momentum shifted. Buoyed by their scoring five points in the first 30 seconds of overtime, the charged-up Oakley team went on to outscore Trego 3-14 in bonus play to win the game, 49-60.
Coach Ricky Synder commented about the loss.
“We didn’t play with the intensity or the emotion or the energy that it takes to be a good ball team like Oakley. We turned the ball over too much, and we didn’t shoot well as a team. That being said, we didn’t play well, but we still had an opportunity to win.”
Three girls scored in double digits: Haley Dietz, 12; Hannah Dietz, 10; and Lexi Riedel, 10. Overall, the team shot 35% from the field.
Haley Dietz pulled down 17 rebounds. The team tallied 42 rebounds.
Trego could possibly meet up with Oakley in sub-state play later in the season. Later this week, however, Trego , 9-6, will match up against the 7-6 Lady Bulldogs at Osborne on February 3.