Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Hawks fight back to defeat Alta-Aurelia in regional opener
Jasmine Lux stretches out in an attempt to keep the ball in play during H-M-S's 49-47 regional tourney win over Alta-Aurelia.
Alta-Aurelia's Jenna Nielsen cannot prevent Lydia Harders from getting to the basket. The senior scored 26 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in H-M-S's 49-47 win.
Generally speaking, a basketball game ends when the final horn sounds. But the girls' 2A first round regional tournament game Feb. 12 in Hartley between Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn and Alta-Aurelia proved that is not always true.
After the eighth lead change of the final quarter, H-M-S went ahead by one on Lydia Harders' rebound put-back with 50 seconds to play. Jasmine Lux added a free throw with 14 seconds on the clock to make the score 49-47. Alta-Aurelia brought the ball up the court and attempted a three-pointer. The shot was short but the Warriors rebounded the ball and H-M-S was called for a foul at the buzzer. That gave Alta-Aurelia a chance to force overtime. When the first attempt failed, the Hawks knew they would advance to the quarterfinal round of regional play.
"I was pretty confident we would come away with a victory, but you never know," Hawk coach Lester Tessum said.
Except for a 2-2 tie, Alta-Aurelia led for the first 20 minutes. Aggressive defensive pressure forced the Hawks to turn the ball over and Alta-Aurelia broke H-M-S's press for easy scores. The Warriors led 15-8 after one quarter and 24-18 at half time.
Offensive and defensive adjustments in the second half allowed the Hawks to get better looks at the basket while limiting Alta-Aurelia's drives into the lane.
H-M-S trailed 31-20 at the midpoint of the third quarter but only trailed by four when it ended. The Hawks took their first lead at 37-36 but had to play catch-up over the next four minutes. A free throw by Elise Haack and Harders' go-ahead basket set the stage for the dramatic conclusion.
Tessum said the Hawks' comeback was due to their determination to get the job done.
"It came down to the girls deciding they weren't going to lose," Tessum observed. "Our kids wanted it and they went out and got it."
Two Hawks who exemplified that determination were Harders and Lux. Tessum said both seniors had "great games." Harders scored 19 of her 26 points in the second half and finished with 10 rebounds [six offensive, four defensive].
Lux contributed 10 points, three rebounds, a pair of assists and a steal.
In addition, Gracie Knobloch had five points and four rebounds; Emily Mutombo had three points, four rebounds and three steals; and Kylee Schiphoff added five rebounds and three steals.
H-M-S improved to 7-15 overall while Alta-Aurelia ended its season at 2-20.
