Teamwork on display

Gehlen Catholic had one big quarter during the War Eagle Conference girls' basketball game played on Dec. 13 in Hartley. But Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn had the final word, outscoring the Jays by 18 points during the second half to earn a 64-49 win.

Abby Douma scored 26 points, grabbed 18 rebounds and blocked 11 shots to record a triple-double. She made 8-of-11 shots from the floor and 10-of-11 at the free throw line.

Hawk coach Ashley Tessum noted that Douma's performance was more than an individual accomplishment.

"I was really happy with our teamwork," she said. "Abby put up 26 points, which is outstanding, but it also showed how well our guards assisted her by feeding her good passes into the post position."

Five players recorded multiple assists, including Gracie Knobloch and Eliza Tewes with three, and Kylee Schiphoff, Addy Sheeler and Lindsey Van Es with two.

Schiphoff finished with 15 points, Moriah Otto scored nine, and Frankie Mohni and Knobloch both scored six to help H-M-S reach its highest point total so far this season.

The Hawks got off to a good start, building a 17-8 lead to end the opening quarter. Gehlen Catholic chipped away at the deficit and eventually took the lead late in the first half. The Jays were on top 29-26 at half time.

H-M-S took the lead for good early in the third quarter with a 9-0 run. Back-to-back baskets by Douma pushed H-M-S's advantage to 43-35 to end the third quarter. Another 9-0 run early in the final period sent the Hawks on their way to the win.

Other contributions were Otto's 13 rebounds and four blocks; Schiphoff's eight rebounds and two steals; Mohni's four rebounds; and Knobloch's three steals.

"Our rebounding and defense were phenomenal," Tessum observed. "Lindsey Van Es's defense was top-notch, as she was tasked with the job of face-guarding Gehlen Catholic's leading scorer and point guard. Overall, I couldn't have been happier with the teamwork and every girl's effort."

• Slow start hampers H-M-S in loss to Wolves

After dominating the series with Harris-Lake Park for nearly a decade, H-M-S has found the going tougher in recent years. The was again the case in the game on Dec. 10 at Lake Park, where the Wolves built an early lead and hung on for a 35-30 win.

H-LP scored 16 points in the first quarter and built a nine-point lead. The scoring was even in the second and third quarters, so the Hawks could not get any closer. H-M-S narrowed the gap in the final quarter but it was not enough.

Knobloch scored 13 points to lead H-M-S. She also had three rebounds.

Other scoring for H-M-S included Mohni with six points, Otto with five, Van Es with four and Douma with two.

Otto dominated the glass, pulling down 19 rebounds while collecting three steals. Douma had 10 rebounds and five blocks, Schiphoff had five rebounds and two steals, Sheeler had four rebounds and Mohni had three.

H-M-S (4-2, 1-0) hosts Remsen St. Mary's on Dec. 20 in the final game before the holiday break.