Strong start, big finish

For nearly three quarters, Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn seemed to control its girls' basketball game with Harris-Lake Park on Jan. 30 in Hartley. The Hawks led by 25 points toward the end of the third quarter and appeared well on their way toward earning their 11th win of the season.

But over the next eight minutes, Harris-Lake Park narrowed the lead to five points. Free throws in the final minute of regulation allowed H-M-S to hold off the Wolves and earn a 48-41 win.

"We had a really strong first half, which helped us secure the win in the end," said Hawk coach Ashley Tessum. "H-LP had a good comeback attempt in the fourth quarter, so our success in the first half was crucial in keeping the lead until the end of the game."

H-M-S took the lead for good near the end of the first quarter and enjoyed a 32-14 advantage at the half. The Hawks extended their lead to 42-17 in the third quarter.

The Wolves began making shots during their comeback while limiting H-M-S to five points in the fourth quarter.

Kylee Schiphoff scored 18 points and grabbed six rebounds and two steals. Frankie Mohni scored 12 points and had two assists; Abby Douma scored seven points and contributed 10 rebounds and seven blocks; and Moriah Otto added five points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

"Abby's blocks and rebounds, as well as Moriah's rebounds (all mostly defensive) were key in not letting H-LP have second looks at the bucket," Tessum noted.

Lindsey Van Es added four points, and Gracie Knobloch had five rebounds, two assists and two steals.

H-LP was led by Kendal Niemeier with 12 points and Gracie Gunderson with 10.

• Hawks overcome slow start

Falling behind early against Trinity Christian, H-M-S bounced back to earn a convincing 63-48 win on Feb. 2 at Hull.

The Tigers scored the first 11 points and held a 17-5 lead after one quarter. The Hawks chipped away at the deficit in the second quarter, narrowing it to 32-27. H-M-S was in control in the second half, outscoring Trinity Christian by an 18-8 margin in each quarter to earn the win.

Schiphoff led H-M-S with 25 points, along with 13 rebounds, four assists and four steals. Knobloch made 7-of-10 shots from the floor, including four three-pointers, to score 18 points. She also had five steals, four assists and two rebounds.

Otto contributed seven points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals; Mohni finished with six points, five assists and five steals; Eliza Tewes scored four points and pulled down five rebounds; Van Es scored three points; and Douma recorded five blocks and three rebounds.

The leading scorer for Trinity Christian was Makiah DeJager with 22 points.

H-M-S improved to 12-8 overall and 5-4 in the War Eagle Conference.