Emily Mutombo knocked down a free throw with just under a minute left for what proved to be the winning point in Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn’s 38-37 victory over Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire January 4 at Graettinger. The charity toss gave the Hawks a 38-34 lead, but the GTRA fought back and had three shots at a game winner in the final seconds. HMS had built a 31-23 lead in the fourth quarter but the Titans would not go away.
The Hawks allowed GTRA to make just a quarter of their field goal attempts. The hosts were 12-of-48 from the floor including 3-of-18 from long range. They sank 10 of their 22 charity tosses. HMS connected at a 33 percent clip with 16 baskets in 49 attempts. The Hawks hit two of nine three-point tries. They were able to escape with the win despite going just 4-of-18 from the foul line.
Leading the way for HMS was Lydia Harders with 15 points, 14 rebounds, four steals and the lone assist. Elise Haack contributed eight points, four rebounds and two steals. Mutombo’s line showed five points, three rebounds and three steals. Emily Otto added four points and five rebounds. It was Jasmine Lux with four points and four rebounds while Abby Douma scored two points.
Turnovers were plentiful but did not favor either team. The Hawks turned the ball over 28 times and GTRA committed 27 turnovers.

HMS 8 8 10 12 – 38
GTRA 14 2 5 16 – 37