As the snow plows clear roads all across South Dakota, the O’Gorman Lady Knights patiently wait for the difficult trek of games ahead, hungry to reach the state tournament once again.
The Lady Knights have gone down this path before, earning a state championship in 2022, before finish fifth after an opening round loss to Harrisburg last season.
“It was disappointing, you know every team is competing for a state championship and Harrisburg just played really well that night and shot the ball really well, said Head Coach Kent Kolsrud. “The kids did a nice job of finishing out the tournament.”
That loss propelled O’Gorman into a focused offseason, where the squad amped up their play to another level in preparation for the upcoming winter. So far, it’s paid off, as the Lady Knights hold a 6-0 record along with the top spot in the Digital Z Power Rankings and the Media Polls.
“We had a really good preseason coming into the year and the kids were fired up and ready to start the season,” said Kolsrud.
“I did think our kids had a really good offseason between the camps we had at O’Gorman, the travel ball, the open gyms, the weight room. Just all the things it takes to be successful in today’s world. It was very impressive and it’s certainly a hungry basketball team.”
This year’s squad is lead by a trio of college-bound seniors: Mahli Abdouch heading to South Dakota State, Lucy Moore traveling north to Northern State, and Aweng Akoi crossing the border to Southwest Minnesota State. Along with a solid rotation of experienced players around them, the leadership on this year’s team has allowed for a competitive atmosphere during the season.
“They’ve been great,” Kolsrud said of the leadership this senior class has provided. “It’s a really good class skill wise. They work really hard. They have provided us with good leadership and they lead by example and that’s where it all starts from.”
The name of the game so far for the top-ranked squad has been the defense. OG has specialized in a half court zone that has lead to a significant number of turnovers and little scoring opportunities for their opponents. In fact, the Lady Knights have given up just 28 point per game; good for top spot in the class by a margin of 9 ppg.
“That’s where it always starts for us. We’ve been preaching that for years and that’s been a staple for us for a long time. Our kids are just really aggressive in our half court zone.
“We can full court pressure in different ways and once we get stops it leads to transition opportunities and that’s got to be a staple for us.”
Those transition opportunities have also paid off so far, with O’Gorman again leading the class with 60 points per game. Coach Kolstrud feels that having an array of talented shooters has allowed his squad to thrive offensively in this system.
“We truly feel like all 8 kids in our rotation have the ability to score and are certainly threats out there on the court.
“We can score in a lot of different ways. I think we have people we can score in the post, we can put the ball on the floor pretty good and I think we have pretty good perimeter shooters as well, so I feel like we’re a tough guard on the offensive end and have a lot of kids that can score.”
Now, the Lady Knights will look to take that torrent style of play into a difficult stretch of games. They’ll first take on 8-1 Aberdeen tonight, before a pair of inter-city matchups against Lincoln and Roosevelt later this week.
“We’re just looking for constant improvement. We feel like there are some games that are certainly going to test us. We have an opportunity to play Aberdeen Central, [who] I think is a really solid basketball team and has tremendous size inside…Games with Lincoln and Roosevelt. I think Roosevelt is much improved since the last time we’ve played them.”
After that, O’Gorman will have a few days rest before a tough back-to-back road series against Washington and Pierre. But Coach Kolsrud thinks that the games over the next few weeks will prepare them to get back to the state tournament.
“Two games both on the road, that will be a really good test for us. A situation where we can’t make any excuses having to play back-to-back on the road and we are going to simulate it, a pre-practice so to speak, leading up to the state tournament.”
To get through a stretch like this, Kolsrud said it will be all hands on deck; whether that means players in the rotation or his active bench that has been critical to the squad this winter.
“Part of being 13 strong are really solid basketball players. We have a really good group of kids to practice against each day and that’s going to help you day in and day out to help you improve.”
“We just really like the depth we have on this team, you know the three kids we have coming off the bench, two seniors in Paydyn Peterson and Clare Benson and a really good freshman in Ruby Moore, and we also really like our next 5 kids we have.
“We have a lot of games coming up in a hurry. [We have to] just really fight through the grind here.”
So, grab your shovels, heat up your cars, and make your way to see the Lady Knights take on Aberdeen.
The road to the state tournament has begun again.
This article is our part of our coaches’ interview series presented by The Move Group. To see the complete list, check out our website below.
Looking to buy or sell your home? With a consistent track record of success, The Move Group has the knowledge and drive to help with your real estate needs. Check out their website here.
Follow along for more coverage of the AA season on our:
Twitter (@DigitalZSD)
Facebook (Digital Z SD)
Instagram (Digital Z Sports)
Website (Digitalzsports.com)
