HOPE — Hauser girls basketball coach Brad Hamilton doesn’t like moral victories, but on Wednesday against perennial Class A state powerhouse Jac-Cen-Del, he might just take it as a moral victory.
The Jets went toe-to-toe with the 10th-ranked Eagles for most of the game, but a 10-0 run in the last couple minutes of the second quarter was the difference in Hauser’s 44-33 loss.
“I thought we played a really good game,” Hamilton said. “They did everything I asked them to do. The defensive effort was phenomenal. (Jac-Cen-Del) is a veteran team that has a good tradition and has strong shooters. Hats off to them. They’re a really good team, and we held them to 44 points. Our girls played really hard.”
Hamilton put his defensive specialist, Mel Hasler, on Eagles top player and scorer Mariah Day. The strategy paid off, with Day being held to six points in the first half before finishing with a game-high 19. Most of those came late in the fourth quarter.
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The Jets (1-7) slowed the tempo down to start the game, and it worked. Bree Hadley, in her first game back after missing the previous three games, scored nine of her team-high 10 points to help give Hauser an 11-9 lead after the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Jac-Cen-Del (5-2) took a 12-11 lead. Mykenzie Ault drained a 3-pointer to give the Jets the lead back at 14-12. The Eagles then scored the final 10 points of the first half to lead 22-14.
Jac-Cen-Del drained a 3 to start the third quarter, but Hauser stormed back with a Hasler 3-pointer to cut it to 25-19. That was as close as the Jets got. The Eagles went on a 7-3 run to end the third quarter and lead 32-22.
Shelby Fugate and Jada Asher each added seven points for Hauser.
“I’m proud of all of them. They listened to me, and they fought hard. The effort was there,” Hamilton said. “I think we were prepared as we could be.”
