Second-half defense tames the Tigers

A strong second half was a key factor in Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn's 53-42 win over Trinity Christian on Dec. 3 in Hartley. It was the Hawk girls' first win of the season.

H-M-S got off to a fast start, scoring the first nine points of the game. They led 15-4 at the end of the first quarter and 23-12 early in the second. But defensive pressure turned things around for the Tigers who cut the deficit to 27-26 by half time.

"Once we settled down and ran our offense, we didn't do too badly," said Hawk coach Lester Tessum. "When they were pressing us in the second quarter, we didn't set things up and had 12 turnovers. That never does well for your scoring."

Trinity Christian scored the first five points of the third quarter, but the Hawks kept them from scoring again until early in the final period. H-M-S regained the lead and extended it to seven in the fourth quarter. The Hawks then made enough free throws to secure the win.

"We calmed down a little bit against the press and didn't turn the ball over," Tessum noted. "We packed [our defense] in a little bit, trying to stop their inside game and make them shoot an outside shot."

H-M-S was led in scoring by Lydia Harders with 15 points and Jasmine Lux with 10. Elise Haack and Emily Otto both scored eight points and Kylee Schiphoff added six.

Harders also paced H-M-S with 10 rebounds and seven steals. Lux had six rebounds and three steals; Haack and Otto each had five rebounds; and Emily Mutombo and Schiphoff had three.

Tessum feels the Hawks are coming together as a team, but there are still areas that need to improve.

"Our starting five is playing well together and the freshmen are starting to see their roles," he said. "We'll continue to work on our press break, staying calm with the ball and getting into an offensive set. We need to be sharper with our offensive sets, make harder cuts and anticipate passing to the open girl."

• vs. Woodbury Central

Woodbury Central built a commanding first-half lead and went on to defeat H-M-S, 51-36, on Dec. 2 in Hartley.

The Wildcats doubled the score on H-M-S in the first quarter (20-10) and extended it to 38-16 at half time. The Hawks cut the deficit by seven in the third quarter but could not get any closer.

H-M-S made just 14-of-50 shot attempts from the floor and 7-of-16 at the foul line.

Leading scorers were Jasmine Lux with 12 points, Lydia Harders with eight and Emily Mutombo with six.

Emily Otto and Kylee Schiphoff both grabbed seven rebounds, Lux had six rebounds and Abby Douma had three. Leaders in steals were Harders with five and Elise Haack with four.

H-M-S (1-2, 0-0) plays at Remsen St. Mary's on Dec. 10, hosts West Bend-Mallard on Dec. 13 and plays at Akron-Westfield on Dec. 14.