Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn’s defensive prowess contributed to 21 turnovers and 24 percent shooting by South O’Brien in a 49-34 HMS win February 8 at Hartley. The win was the first for the Hawks in War Eagle Conference play where they finished 1-9.
“Our defense was very solid,” stated HMS head coach Lester Tessum who noted that his team threw various defenses at the Wolverines. “We started out with a man-to-man full court press,” said the coach. “In the second half we put on a three-quarter trap and then went back into a 2-3 extended zone defense. Our girls did a good job with ball pressure and staying up on them.”
The Hawks maintained a comfortable lead through the middle two quarters and then expanded the advantage in the late going. “Toward the end we went into an offense where we were just going to take layups,” explained Tessum. “We wanted patience at the end of the game and the girls did very well with it.”
HMS was 19-of-62 from the field for 31 percent. The Hawks were 3-of-10 from beyond the arc and 8-of-14 at the charity stripe. South O’Brien was successful on 10 of 42 field goal tries. That included going 4-for-22 from three-point range. The visitors sank nine of their 11 free throw attempts. HMS committed 14 turnovers.
Lydia Harders paced HMS with 18 points and 13 rebounds. Kylee Schiphoff chipped in with 15 points, five rebounds and four steals. Jasmine Lux contributed seven points, five rebounds and two assists. Gracie Knobloch also tallied seven points to go along with four rebounds. Emily Mutombo scored two points, grabbed three rebounds and made three steals.
S. O’Brien 5 9 10 9 – 33
HMS 15 8 11 15 – 49