No. 7 Osage survives against Riceville
By Kristi Nixon
OSAGE — Riceville came into Class 3A No. 7 Osage with upset on its mind.
Had it not been for the Wildcats’ free throw shooting performance, they would have pulled it off.
Coach Darcy Fair’s team led 17-6 early in the second quarter before Osage coach Chad Erickson’s team switched defenses, and with a number of fouls that sent Riceville to the free throw line, the visitors were just 14-of-29 from the charity stripe, 8-of-18 in the fourth quarter alone as Osage escaped with the 40-37 victory on Thursday, Dec. 1.
“We got off to such a slow start on offense, and that kind of rattled us,” Erickson said. “This is our first game, and we haven’t even scrimmaged anybody, so this is our first action at all, so we knew it wasn’t going to be the prettiest tonight, but as bad as we were on offense, our defense kept us in it. Especially after the first quarter, we played much better defense and gave ourselves a chance.”
Coach Fair said, “We gave them a run for their money. We have to be able to step up to the line, and it’s all what you’re telling yourself. We talk about positive self-talk and turn the page and work through it.”
The complete story and more photos will be found in the Dec. 7 print edition of the Enterprise Journal.
