Strong to the finish

Better shooting from the floor and dominance on the glass helped turn what had been a battle with Sheldon into a comfortable victory for Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn. The Hawk girls used a 12-point advantage in the fourth quarter to wrap up a 62-41 win on Jan. 11 in Hartley.

H-M-S made 43 percent of its shots from the field, including 8-of-15 from three-point range, and dominated the glass by a 41-26 margin. Both teams attempted 29 free throws and neither made more than 50 percent of them.

After trailing twice early in the game, the Hawks led 13-10 after one quarter. They extended the margin to seven in the second quarter before Sheldon cut it to 19-16. H-M-S led 25-21 at halftime.

The Hawks' strong start in the third quarter helped them build a 14-point lead, but Sheldon scored five straight points to narrow the deficit to 41-32. H-M-S took over in the fourth quarter and pulled away for the 21-point win.

Leading scorers for H-M-S were Kylee Schiphoff with 19 points and Abby Douma with 13. Gracie Knobloch and Moriah Otto each scored eight points, Eliza Tewes scored five, Frankie Mohni scored four, Kamryn Ebel made a three-pointer and Lindsey Van Es made two free throws.

Douma also contributed 11 rebounds, five blocks and two steals; Tewes had seven rebounds and two assists; Otto pulled down six rebounds; Schiphoff had six steals along with her four rebounds; Van Es also had four rebounds; and Addison Sheeler finished with two rebounds and two assists.

Taya Sudbeck led Sheldon with 17 points.

With their third straight win since the holiday break, the Hawks' record improved to 7-5. They will play at West Sioux on Jan. 19, make up a game with MMCRU on Jan. 20 in Hartley and then play the Royals again on Jan. 23 at Marcus.