HOPE — Hauser girls basketball coach Brad Hamilton did not mince words when describing his team’s 47-37 upset victory over Class A No. 5 Trinity Lutheran Saturday afternoon.
“This win was huge. To beat a good, state ranked team is a huge victory for our kids. I’m very proud of them,” he said.
The Jets (1-3) controlled the action from the opening tip and led by as many as 15 points in the fourth quarter on their way the win in a game in which they never trailed. After a Hannah Johnson free throw opened the scoring, a Mykenzie Ault field goal, followed by Jada Asher’s 3-pointer put the Jets up 6-0 to begin the game.
Hauser’s defense was also on display early. It did not allow the Cougars (1-1) to score a field goal for the first 6:10 of the game, allowing the Jets to lead 13-8 after the first quarter.
“I think our zone surprised them,” Hamilton stated. “I also have been preaching ball pressure to them, and for three games, we haven’t done that, but today we lived it. I’m really proud of how Mel (Hasler) played defensively today. She played a great game.”
The second quarter brought more of the same defensive intensity from Hauser, which held Trinity to six points in the period. The Cougars, however, played great defense of their own and held the Jets to five points in the quarter.
Although Hauser was able to extend its lead to eight midway through the quarter, Trinity scored the last four points of the half to cut the lead to 18-14 when both teams headed for the locker rooms.
The second half started much like the first, with the Jets jumping on the Cougars with a quick 8-2 run to extend their lead to 26-16. Trinity cut the lead back to eight on a Hannah Sabotin field goal, but Aunaka Wasil nailed a 3, and Ault followed with a steal and layup for two of her team-leading 16 points to put Hauser up by 13 with 1:15 left in the third quarter. The Cougars scored the last three points of the period, however, and entered the fourth trailing 31-21.
The Jets began the fourth quarter with a 7-2 run to take their biggest lead of the game at 38-23 with 5:05 remaining. Trinity’s Savannah Harweger then scored two of her team-high 16 points to stop the run, but Hasler answered right back for Hauser to extend the lead back up to 15, and although the Cougars closed to within six after going on a 10-1 run, they got no closer than that.
“I think we were flat coming out,” Trinity coach Mike Lang said. “We had a good win the other night (at Indianapolis Lutheran), but we didn’t have that road toughness we needed to win today. I’m proud of the way we battled back in the last quarter, but Hauser had an answer. I give them the credit.”
