While it’s not uncommon to see a high school basketball player score 1,000 career points, it is rare when you see multiple people from the same family do it.
On Monday night, Irene-Wakonda played Bon Homme in girls’ basketball. During the fourth quarter, Eagles junior Nora O’Malley joined the 1,000-point club. Nora is the sixth, yes, SIXTH O’Malley family member to reach the 1,000-point milestone.
In an interview with the Yankton Press & Dakotan O’Malley said she wasn’t really thinking about reaching 1,000 career points during the game.
“During the game, I actually forgot that I was that close, until they stopped it for me,” said O’Malley. “I was really focusing on the game itself and trying to get us back in it.”
Irene-Wakonda didn’t win on Monday, Bon Homme scored a 49-37 victory in the contest. But that didn’t stop the Eagles team from posing for a photo to honor Nora’s milestone after the game.
“All my other siblings have gotten it, so to me, it means a lot more,” said Nora O’Malley.
Kieran, Seamus, Rory, Shannon, and Malloy O'Malley are Nora’s siblings who also scored at least 1,000-points during their high school careers. Her older sisters Kieran and Shannon finished high school as members of the 2,000-point club – Shannon with 2,154 and Kieran with 2,599.
There are plenty of strong basketball families in South Dakota, but the O’Malley’s are one as well – and the bond they share in common is one that few will ever replicate. Irene-Wakonda is head coached by Nora's dad, Pat O'Malley. His sister Karrie, is the mother to the well known Duffy family (Ex: Caitlin and Ciara) out of St. Thomas More in Rapid City.
