SHELBYVILLE — Hauser’s two goals heading into Monday’s Mid-Hoosier Conference girls basketball game at Southwestern (Shelby) were to grab at least 15 offensive rebounds and shoot 70 percent from the free-throw line.
The Jets reached their offensive rebounding mark, but hit only 6 of their 11 free-throw attempts in a 49-43 loss.
Senior Tessa Sims played, but sickness limited her production. Mykenzie Ault missed the final three minutes after getting hit in the chest.
“I thought the effort was great, I really did,” Hauser coach Brad Hamilton said. “We battled some sickness, we battled some adversity and we battled an injury on the road. I can’t fault the effort at all. The effort was rock solid.”
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The Spartans (5-1, 3-0) took an 11-5 lead in the first quarter before the Jets (1-3, 1-1) battled back to take a 23-21 lead at halftime. But Hauser’s only third-quarter points came from a Lauryn Starnes free-throw and a 3-pointer by Jada Asher in the final seconds of the period.
Southwestern took a 37-27 lead after scoring 16 points in the third quarter. A 9-1 run by Hauser to start the final period cut the lead to two, but some solid free-throw shooting by the Spartans helped hold the lead.
Southwestern converted on 12 of its 15 fourth-quarter free throws. But the Jets still battled back after the Spartans took a 46-38 lead with less than two minutes left.
Asher hit her fourth 3-pointer of the night with just less than a minute left to cut the lead to 46-41. Two plays later, she scored on an and-one to bring Hauser to within four, but missed the free-throw. Southwestern then knocked down two more free throws to seal the win.
Asher led the Jets with 16 points.
“She played a heck of a game. She really did,” Hamilton said. “She hit clutch shot after clutch shot. She played with a lot of intensity, played multiple positions anywhere I put her. She played on both ends of the floor. I thought her effort was fantastic.”
Sarah Tedder added 11 points and nine rebounds for Hauser. Ault had seven points and seven rebounds before leaving the game. Taylor Henderson scored six points off the bench and led the Jets with 10 rebounds.
