HOPE — Hauser found itself trailing 42-37 late in the fourth quarter and it looked like Batesville was ready to secure the victory in Friday’s girls basketball season opener.
The Jets fought back in a big way.
Hauser struggled from the free-throw line for most of the game, but the Jets made enough free throws to put themselves in position for the win. Madelyn Poe, a sophomore transfer from Center Grove, hit a 3-pointer from beyond the arc to cut the deficit to 46-44. On the inbounds play, with around 15 seconds left, Poe inbounded the ball to Gabby Johns, who then gave it right back to Poe for the open 3 from the right wing that hit nothing but the net. After a desperation 3 from the Bulldogs, Johns converted two free throws to cap off an incredible 49-46 comeback victory.
“It was the exact play that coach (Chad Evans) drew up. I knew I had to have confidence in myself to shoot it and make for my teammates,” Poe said of the go-ahead bucket. “Gabby got it and executed it perfectly, and it went in.”
Hauser started out of the gate a little bit sloppy, and that led to couple of opportunities for Batesville, which took advantage to jump out to a 6-1 lead. Poe gave the Jets a spark heading toward the end of the opening period by converting a couple baskets and an assist on a basket to put Hauser ahead 13-10 after one period.
The Jets expanded their lead to 16-10 following a Poe triple. The Bulldogs then took advantage of their size underneath, with Alyson Peters and Calley Kaiser combining for 10 points in the paint, which helped them tie the game at 20-20 midway through the second quarter. After Hauser scored four straight points to lead 24-20, Batesville finished the first half on a 7-2 run to take a 27-26 lead at the break.
Both teams were stagnant on offense in the third quarter, with only one basket converted in six minutes. The scoring slowly started coming in the final two minutes, but Bulldogs still maintained the lead at 32-31 heading into the fourth.
Kyliegh Parrott converted a 3-pointer to tie the game at 34-34 for the Jets following an opening bucket from Batesville. A transition layup from Poe gave Hauser the lead back at 36-34. The Bulldogs then went on a 7-1 run to lead 42-37, setting up the final sequence.
“I give credit to the kids. All night long, they executed, and they were coached,” Evans said. “That means a lot for our kids this year. They’re understanding that when you get coached hard or you get coached, if you can go out and execute it, it makes my job easy. I give credit to them. They all played hard tonight. I’m thankful. Their chemistry is great, and they’re a good bunch of kids. It makes it easier to coach.”
Poe finished with a game-high 24 points to lead the Jets. Adrianna Musillami added nine points, and Gabby Johns had seven.
“It’s nice having the kids we have. Their basketball IQs have all picked up,” Evans said. “They’ve gotten smarter and gotten older and more mature, and we’re still young. There’s one senior and the rest are underclassmen…We’re pretty blessed right now.”
