LINCOLN – Another Overton high school girls sports season ended Saturday night with history being made as the Eagles won their first state basketball championship, beating Wynot 44-40 for the D2 crown.
Appearing in only their second state championship game and first since 1991, Overton struggled early in the game, falling behind by nine. Trailing 15-11 after the first quarter, the Eagles never panicked and once again relied on their strong defense and incredible rebounding abilities. Overton would stymie Wynot’s offense in the second quarter, holding them to five points while going off for 12. The Eagle offense would take flight in the second quarter, thanks to the hot shooting of Daisy Ryan. She sparked the offense with three triples and 11 first half points. Overton would take a lead heading into the locker room and would never look back.
The second half would be dominated by rebounding, in particular Natalie Wood. As she had done all season, she throttled opposing rebounders and vacuumed in seemingly every rebound on both ends of the floor. Wood would grab 11 offensive rebounds that would help lead to 21 second chance points. Wynot continued to throw punches, but Overton dodged enough haymakers in the second half and would convert crucial free throws to secure a state championship.
Wood would wrap up her career with 14 points and 23 rebounds. Daisy Ryan would finish with 11 points while Ashlyn Florell added seven points and JoLee Ryan contributed six points. Overton would dominate the boards, grabbing 46 rebounds with 20 coming on the offensive glass. The Eagles would shoot 33% from the field, knock in four three pointers and went 10-14 from the charity stripe, but gave the ball away 23 times. Wynot would also shoot 33%, but only hit two three pointers and went 4-8 from the free throw line. The Blue Devils would secure 22 rebounds and 14 steals while finishing with 10 turnovers. Individually, Kinslee Heimes scored 18 points and Kenna Oligmueller added 11 points in the loss.
Overton would finish the year 28-1 while Wynot finished 22-3 and their fifth state runner-up.
Listen to the game below.
