SHELBYVILLE — Hauser controlled most of the first half of Tuesday’s Mid-Hoosier conference girls basketball contest at Southwestern (Shelby).
The final four minutes of the second quarter would ultimately be the Jets doom. With the Jets leading 18-12, the Spartans went on a 14-1 run to close out the first half. Hauser could not string together an offensive scoring run in the second half and, as a result, fell 55-48.
Free-throw shooting did not help make matters any better. The Jets went 14 of 24 from the line.
“We did not come out ready to play,” Hauser coach Brad Hamilton said. “They came out and outworked us and outhustled us. After we battled to get ahead 18-12, it looked like we relaxed too much, almost to the point where we took the rest of the half off. It’s hard to explain what happened, but it got ugly for us real quick.”
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The only intensity the Jets (3-2, 1-1) had happened early in the game. Leslie Sims and Tessa Sims each dropped in a basket to close the gap to 10-8. They also scored the first eight points in the second quarter, capped by a 3-point basket from Abbey Ashbrook.
Southwestern (6-1, 4-0) used an offensively balanced scoring attack throughout the game. Whenever Hauser was unable to stop the ball on the defensive end, the Spartans made them pay by burying their perimeter shots.
“We have not been able to stop dribble penetration, and it is one thing that has been our nemesis all season so far,” Hamilton said. “When we don’t stop it, we come to help out, and it eventually leads to one of their shooters being wide open. To their credit, they shot the ball well.”
Leslie Sims led the Jets with 16 points. Tessa Sims and Paige Miller each scored nine points, and Ashbrook added eight.
Hauser’s best chance at a comeback happened to start the second half. Down 30-20, the Jets turned up the heat as Leslie Sims and Miller each grabbed a steal and easy layup at the other end to help cut the deficit 30-27. Southwestern, though, quickly answered right back with a couple of baskets to erase the comeback chance.
“We got a couple of breaks ourselves, and we could not take full advantage of it,” Hamilton said. “Again, that is what happens. We just got outplayed by them tonight, and we were not prepared for that.”
