WAUSA – The Wausa girls basketball team fell to 2-9 overall after two competitive losses during the 2024 edition of its own Post Holiday Tournament.
The Lady Vikings lost 40-37 to the Lutheran High Northeast Lady Eagles (2-11) on Jan. 4 and 48-37 to the Osmond/Randolph Lady Hawks (2-10) on Jan. 6.
“Avery Stevens played by far her best game of the year and has really come on these last few weeks,” Wausa head coach Shane Anderson said of the sophomore’s performance against Lutheran High Northeast. “She is being pretty efficient offensively and has been all over the place defensively, whether it’s guarding the best guard or defending a post player. I’ve been really happy with her effort and play.
“Defensively, I thought we did enough to win,” he said. “We had a few mistakes in the second half that LHNE did a good job of capitalizing on and hit some three. That was really the difference in the game; they made more threepoint shots.”
Wausa, which was tied going into the final quarter before seeing the Lady Eagles hang on, was led by Stevens (12 points, eight rebounds), sophomore Taylor Dawson (15 points, five rebounds) and senior Sienna West (four points, nine rebounds).
“Offensively, we just continue to struggle with our shooting percentage,” Anderson said. “I told the girls it is just really hard to win shooting 25 percent. The margin for error is just so small and a couple defensive mistakes over the course of a game is just so costly.
“I think we are getting good shots, lots of shots in the paint,” he said. “We just have to convert and probably get some more offensive rebounds and try to just get more shots or foul opportunities.”
The Lady Vikings’ loss to Osmond/ Randolph had the positive aspect of seeing the return of senior Hadley Vanness, who had been out for a stretch following some complications due to mononucleosis.
Dawson (15 points, six rebounds), West (10 points, four rebounds) and junior Olivia Barta (six points) spearheaded Wausa’s attack as the squad shot 23 percent from the field.
“I think (for) some of the girls, the shooting part is just mental right now,” Anderson said. “They have very little confidence that the ball is going to go in the hole. We were not as sharp defensively and let some simple pick-and-roll things beat us for some of their easy baskets. Then with our team being down by 10 – (it) looks like a really tall task when it’s halfway through the third quarter and you are down 10, but have only scored 15 up to that point.
“I feel for the girls in that they do a lot of things correctly, but when the ball doesn’t go in, it can feel somewhat hopeless at times,” he said. “I tell them all the time, that is basketball and you just have to continue to shoot your way through it; be patient and continue to work for shots you are comfortable with.”
Anderson hailed the return of Vanness, whom he calls a good leader with a strong temperament who will “make a difference” for the Lady Vikings when fully healthy.
Vanness admitted her recovery has been a battle, but she is excited to be back on the court and told Anderson last week she’d be ready to go. “I played a good chunk of the game – I’d say I subbed in right away,” Vanness said. “I went right back to playing just as much as I did before. After the first quarter, it started to feel normal, which I was surprised by.” Vanness stayed in game shape by taking a large number of shots, but she is still being monitored for contact. She also believed Wausa just needs to get over the hump confidence- wise.
“They should have been wins, but the past is the past – you can’t really change that,” Vanness said. “It’s definitely something we can learn from. We were ready to get on a roll, but I think losing me – we had to get the groove back. “Hopefully with me back now and with our other players stepping up, we should be able to get back in that groove and hopefully get back on a winning streak,” she said. She added that it’s just a matter of time for the Lady Vikings’ younger players to gain the right amount of confidence to take the next step. Wausa was scheduled to play at Neligh-Oakdale on Jan. 9 and then is set to hit the road again to take on Osmond/Randolph on Jan. 12 and host Elkhorn Valley on Jan. 16.
“They are both winnable games, but we need to play well and concentrate on things we can control,” Anderson said of Neligh-Oakdale and Osmond/Randolph. “Both teams have records similar to ours.”
