HOPE — With Hauser set to host Indianapolis Lutheran tonight in the second game of a back-to-back, the Jets needed a solid effort in the second half Wednesday to gain a little momentum after an abysmal first half against Class A No. 7 Jac-Cen-Del.
After falling behind 48-9 at halftime, the Jets were much more competitive in the final 16 minutes, and especially in the third quarter. Still, the Eagles were able to fly away with an 86-32 victory.
“That was a little better effort the second half,” Hauser coach Chad Evans said. “That was the main thing, and that’s what I told them in the locker room. I said I don’t care if you’re winning by 20 or losing by 20, your effort has to be the same, and you have to go out and compete.”
The game was tied at 5-5 with 4:45 left in the first quarter following a long 3-pointer by the Jets’ Hannah Taylor. After Jac-Cen-Del (3-2) scored eight in a row, Adriana Musillami scored to cut the lead to 13-7 with 2:40 left in the quarter.
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From there, the Eagles went on a 26-0 run over the next 7 minutes to take a 39-7 lead.
“We just weren’t hitting some shots in the first half,” Evans said. “We got some decent looks, but we had some turnovers, and they capitalized on our mistakes and that’s what good basketball teams do.”
Jac-Cen-Del outscored Hauser (1-2) only 23-18 in the third quarter. Kyliegh Parrott, who did not score in the first half, scored 17 of the Jets’ 18 points in the period and 20 of their 23 in the second half.
The Eagles outrebounded Hauser 65-32. Marnie Schwartzkopf, Taylor, Gabby Johns, Musillami and Hannah Johnson all grabbed five rebounds for the Jets.
“Jac-Cen-Del is a really good team,” Evans said. “They’re ranked seventh in the state for a reason. We had a deer-in-the-headlights look. We talked about that pregame, how we’re going to have to execute and do things. They’re going to climb in our face and get into us, and they did, and we kind of got back on our heels and let them dictate how we played.”
The good news for Hauser is that it will have returning starter and senior Aunaka Wasil available for the first time tonight. Wasil missed the first three games because of contact tracing.
“This is only our third game, and we still don’t have everybody back yet,” Evans said. “We’ll be full strength hopefully by next week. Aunaka will be back (today), and that’s going to help. I think we’ll be OK. We just have to get better every night.”
