Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn and Manson-NW Webster were battling tooth and nail for the right to advance down the tournament trail. In the end it was the Cougar defense that decided matters, holding HMS scoreless over the final three-plus minutes to come away with a 46-44 victory in a Class 2A Region 5 quarterfinal played February 13 at Hartley.
The Hawks had taken their largest lead of seven points early in the final frame. HMS was up 42-35 but the visitors scored the next six points to draw within one. The final HMS points came on a pair of free throws by Moriah Otto. Kylee Schiphoff then fouled out and Manson-NW Webster made one of the two free throws to trail 44-42. The Cougars’ Sophia McCullough scored and added a free throw for the final three tallies of her 23-point night putting her team in front. Meanwhile, the Hawks were unable to get shots off due to the aggressive defense from their opponents. A tying shot was missed and Manson-NW Webster added another point at the free throw line with five seconds left. Fittingly, the game ended on one final Hawk turnover, the team’s 31st.
“Going into the game, I knew it was going to be a hard-fought game,” acknowledged HMS head coach Ashley Tessum. “We were pretty evenly matched teams. I even told the team at halftime to keep battling; the victory would probably come down to the very last second of the game, and it did.”
Tessum gave appropriate credit to the Cougar defense, saying, “In the second half they were playing pretty tight defense, and unfortunately we weren’t able to put up the shots like we did during the first half. I think that was the biggest obstacle holding us back from the win.”
The loss was the ninth of the season for HMS, measured against the team’s 13 victories. This is the first time the Hawks have won as many as 13 games in a season since they finished 16-7 in 2016-17. “Going from a 3-19 season record last year, to a 13-9 this year, I couldn’t be more proud of these girls and the teamwork and dedication they displayed this season!” stated their coach. The future is bright as the Hawks lose no players to graduation. “Very thankful to get the opportunity to have all of these girls back again next season!” expressed Tessum.
HMS relied on its inside game with Otto scoring 14 points and Abby Douma 11. Schiphoff added eight points and Frankie Mohni seven. Gracie Knobloch and Lindsey Van Es each tallied two points. Knobloch was the distributer, racking up five assists.
The 33 Hawk shots were 28 fewer than the number put up by the visitors. HMS finished with 16 baskets to shoot 49 percent. The Cougars managed only one bucket more to end up at 28 percent. Schiphoff and Mohni each nailed a three-pointer while Manson-NW Webster went 0-for-11 from beyond the arc. At the free throw line the home team was 10-of-16 and the Cougars 12-of-21.
Douma blocked seven shots in the game, raising her season total to 103. Knobloch and Schiphoff each recorded a pair of steals as the Cougars had 14 turnovers. Douma pulled down nine rebounds. Knobloch collected six and Mohni four.
M-NW W 16 12 5 13 – 46
HMS 14 15 9 6 – 44