Too much to overcome

Playing George-Little Rock in basketball for the first time as members of the War Eagle Conference, Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn got off to a good start in the girls' game. But G-LR would gain the momentum and eventually earn the 61-47 win on Nov. 28 at George.

The Mustangs broke the 15-15 deadlock in the second quarter and took a 31-25 lead into the intermission. H-M-S trailed by a 50-39 margin at the end of the third quarter and could not overcome the deficit.

Abby Douma had a strong night offensively, making 6-of-6 shots from the floor and 6-of-7 free throws to score 18 points. She also recorded five blocks and four rebounds.

Others in the scoring column were Kylee Schiphoff with 10 points, Lindsey Van Es with eight, Moriah Otto with six and Gracie Knobloch with four. The Hawks made 16-of-40 shots from the field and 13-of-23 at the line.

Otto grabbed nine rebounds; Schiphoff had five rebounds and two steals; Eliza Tewes came down with four rebounds; Van Es had three rebounds and two steals; and Frankie Mohni had three rebounds. Knobloch added five assists and two rebounds.

The Mustangs were led in scoring by Lindsey Haken with 25 points.

• Boys fall to Mustangs

Opening the 2023-24 boys' basketball season with one senior, one junior and three sophomores in the starting lineup, H-M-S faced a senior-dominated George-Little Rock team that established an early lead and pulled away for a 69-31 victory.

H-M-S trailed 23-13 at the end of the first quarter and was limited to 18 points after that. G-LR led 41-18 at halftime and 61-23 after three quarters.

The Hawks' inexperience showed on the glass, where they were outrebounded by a 39-12 margin and gave up 18 offensive rebounds.

"It was a tough first outing for our guys," Hawk coach Naet Hoaglund acknowledged. "I felt like we struggled from a physicality standpoint, especially on the boards. We aren't the biggest team so we have to be physical when attacking rebounds. I didn't feel like our effort was great on the rebounding front."

Alex Billings had three rebounds, and Lawton Schiphoff and Bradley Van Beek each had two.

Josh Cruz led H-M-S with nine points, Schiphoff and Van Beek each scored six, George Vargas scored four, and Jayden Leth and Zac Pearson added three. The Hawks made 12-of-36 shots from the floor.

"Offensively, I was pleased with our flow in the first quarter. It felt like the ball was moving and guys were getting confident looks," Hoaglund noted. "Things became stagnant in the second and third quarters and we struggled to find our rhythm."

Cruz also contributed three assists and Schiphoff had three assists and two steals.

G-LR had four players score in double figures, led by Drew Denekas with 18 points.