The postseason for Nebraska high school girls basketball started on Monday, Feb. 17. Osmond was placed in the D1-3 sub-district which included other teams such as top seeded Hartington Cedar Catholic, Bloomfield, Hartington-Newcastle, and Wausa.
Osmond would face Wausa in the bunny bracket game on Monday in Hartington. It would be the third time these two teams have met this season.
In what you'd expect to see in a matchup with two familiar teams, the score was deadlocked at 7 all after the first period with no team ever really gaining an advantage or going on a scoring run. By halftime, however, Wausa had gained a slight advantage, 22-17, outscoring Osmond by 5 points in the second quarter.
Wausa had some key 3-point shots fall for them during the third period, where Osmond found themselves trailing 35-20 late in the third period.
Going into the fourth quarter, both teams knew the game was far from over, even though Wausa held a 37-25 lead at the start of the stanza.
Osmond put out quite the effort in the fourth quarter and kept chipping away at the Wausa lead. At the 3:14 mark in the fourth quarter, Wausa was up 45-32 before two free throws from Korrine Moes made it an 11-point ballgame, 45-34.
However, the following possession for Wausa saw a Kenley Anderson layup which brought them back to
a 13-point lead, 47-34, with 2:52 remaining in the game. A free throw from Moes made the score 47-35.
Wausa mishandled the rebound on the second free throw attempt and gave the possession back to Osmond.
A deep two from Carrie Kumm found the bottom of the net to make it a 10-point ballgame, 47-37, with only 2:25 left on the clock now.
Both teams traded missed baskets on their next possessions. Kaleigh Miller stole an inbound pass for Wausa and raced to the opposite end, getting fouled on her shot attempt. She would shoot two free throws where she would go 1 of 2 and cut the lead even more, 47-38, with 1:35 showing on the clock.
Wausa got the rebound from the missed free throw but failed to complete the outlet pass, throwing it out of bounds, giving the ball back to Osmond already on the offensive side of the court.
The Tigers took advantage right away and Moes went straight to the hoop to score two more points. With 1:25 left in the game, that basket cut the game to a 7-point lead for Wausa, 47-40.
Wausa had a chance on the following possession but missed a layup.
Sophia Gansebom secured the rebound and was fouled in the process which would send her to the free throw line since Wausa had 5 team fouls in the quarter. The consistent shooting Gansebom knocked down both foul shots. 47-42, with 1:18 left in the game.
Wausa's very next possession saw them turn the ball over again. Osmond got the ball into Moes at the high post and as she was attacking the basket, she got fouled and would go to the free throw line for two more shots.
Sinking both free throws with 1:01 left in the game made the score 47-44.
Wausa's shot attempt with 35 seconds left was no good and Gansebom secured the rebound. A deep two from Kumm with 19.9 seconds left in the game made it a 1-point game, 47-46.
Osmond fouled on the inbound pass and sent Olivia Barta to the line for Wausa. She missed the first one but made the second one to make it a two-point difference now, at 48-46.
An Osmond turnover bringing the ball up the court forced the Tigers to foul to stop the clock. Erin Wagner committed the foul which would be her fifth in the game, and would send Kennedy Gillilan to the line for Wausa with only 11.1 seconds left in the game.
She would miss both of her free throws, but a free throw lane violation on Osmond would let her reshoot the second shot again. She made the reshoot shot which gave Wausa a 4946 lead. Osmond got the ball down the court, their shot went off the rim and the final buzzer sounded, ending their season.
Osmond would outscore Wausa 21-12 in the fourth quarter. Despite being down by 15 points late in the third quarter, the Lady Tigers showed absolute grit to cut the game to a twopoint margin late.
“The coaching staff couldn't be more proud of the resiliency this team showed this game as well as throughout the whole season,” said Coach Bradley Wright.
Gansebom had a fantastic game to lead the Tigers. She finished with a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds, to go along with 3 blocks and 3 assists. The loss would officially end the Tiger hardcourt careers of Keli Aschoff, Sophia Gansebom, and Erin Wagner.
Score by Quarter Osmond 7 10 8 21 = 46 Wausa 7 15 15 12 = 49 BOX SCORE
Pts Reb Asst Stl Bl
Moes 12 2 2 1 0 Gansebom 15 10 3 2 3 Kumm 6 1 1 1 0 Miller 11 8 0 2 2 Wagner 2 4 5 3 0 A full, total season recap of both JV and varsity teams will be in next week's paper.
