Basketball Recap: Dakota O'brien's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Mcdonald County over West Plains

After flying high against Carl Junction last Monday, McDonald County came back down to earth. The McDonald County Mustangs lost 84-63 to the West Plains Zizzers on Thursday. While losing is never fun, the Mustangs can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Missouri basketball rankings (they are ranked 167th, while the Zizzers are ranked 24th).

Dakota O'Brien

Points

03/06/25 vs West Plains	16
03/03/25 vs Carl Junction	27
02/27/25 vs Hillcrest	23
02/25/25 vs Branson	15
02/17/25 @ Cassville	18
+ 5 more games

Several Mustangs players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Dakota O'Brien, who went 6-for-11 on her way to 16 points in addition to eight rebounds and three steals. O'Brien's evening made it ten games in a row in which she has scored at least 15 points. Another player making a difference was Jamie Washam, who dropped a double-double with 14 points and 11 boards.

Even though they lost, McDonald County smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 17 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 16 offensive rebounds in ten consecutive contests.

West Plains found their leader in freshman Gillian Green, who almost dropped a double-double with 20 points and nine rebounds. Thanks to that strong game, Green now owns an excellent 45.5% field goal percentage. Delani Wahome was another key player, dropping a double-double with 15 points and 12 boards.

McDonald County has traveled a rocky road recently, having lost three of their last four games. That's put a noticeable dent in their 14-14 record this season. That patch can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 64.3 points over those games. West Plains has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 12 of their last 14 matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 19-8 record this season.

McDonald County does not have any more games scheduled as of now. As for West Plains, they have already played their next contest, a 72-51 victory against Hillcrest on the 8th.