Hauser’s Abby Manley shoots a 3-pointer against Jac-Cen-Del in the first round of sectional at Hauser, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025.
Paige Grider for The Republic
HOPE — When Hauser battled from behind to take a one-point lead with 3:50 left in Wednesday’s first-round sectional battle, the Jets were feeling pretty good about their chances of pulling an upset against Jac-Cen-Del.
But then the Eagles’ Sophia Sullivan, who had missed her first six shots from the field, nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the key to give them the lead for good, and Jac-Cen-Del escaped with a 49-44 victory.
“I really felt like our momentum was going in the right direction when we took the lead,” Hauser coach Kyle Shipp said.
The Eagles (8-15) advance to Friday’s Hauser Sectional semifinals, where they will meet Shawe Memorial (17-5), a 44-38 winner against Trinity Lutheran in Wednesday’s first game.
Jac-Cen-Del jumped out to an early 7-0 lead, only to see the Jets (10-13) come back to take a 16-15 lead with 5:27 left in the first half. The Eagles regained a 33-28 lead at 23-19 lead at halftime and still led 33-28 after three quarters.
Braelyn Williams opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer, and after a Jac-Cen-Del free throw, Norah Berkenstock scored on a layup to cut the lead to one. Berkenstock then came up with a steal and fed Abby Manley for a layup to give Hauser a 35-34 advantage.
After Sullivan’s 3-pointer gave the lead back to the Eagles, they added a pair of free throws and another basket to go up by six. Williams and Manley each hit their fifth 3-pointer of the night sandwiched around two Jac-Cen-Del free throws to cut the lead to 43-41 with 2:09 remaining, but the Eagles pulled away at the free-throw line.
“I thought we battled all night long,” Shipp said. “We just couldn’t get over that hump. We were chasing all night long and we couldn’t quite close out the comeback.”
Manley finished with a game-high 17 points and led the Jets with five rebounds. Williams scored 15 points, and Berkenstock added nine.
“We knew that they would guard (Berkenstock),” Shipp said. “The would close on her tight, so we needed somebody to step up. Abby and Braelyn both really stepped up and shot the ball for us from the arc, and that was kind of our mojo. We had to have our feet set and ready to shoot the ball, and I think we did that tonight. We just needed maybe one or two more shots to go down for us.”
Hauser played without injured starter Chloie Phelps, and leading rebounder June Berkenstock was limited because of illness. Jac-Cen-Del outrebounded Hauser 45-27.
The Jets will lose Norah Berkenstock and their two subs from Tuesday’s game — Willa Wetzel and Haven Hartwell — to graduation.
“If you look at our progression from last year to this year, it’s just astronomical numbers in the positive,” Shipp said. “Every single category is a positive to the tune of over 150 turnovers to the positive, four in the win column, so our progression has been really good for us this year. Now it’s time, can we take another step forward? Can we take another step to when we get that lead, get another stop and another score?
“We love our progression going into Year 4 (with Shipp as coach),” he added. “We love how our seniors have taken us this far, so we appreciate that. Then, we’re back to work in the spring when we can building for next season.”
In the opener, meanwhile, Trinity (12-11) led 6-2 early before Shawe went on a 15-0 run to take control. Audrey Barron scored 34 of the Hilltoppers’ 44 points.
Rachel Bonde led the Cougars with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Marley Warren added 11 points.
Jac-Cen-Del 49, Hauser 44
Jac-Cen-Del;13;10;10;16;—;49
Hauser;8;11;9;16;—;44
Jac-Cen-Del (8-15): Brooklyn Simon 4 1-2 12, Cheyenne Cullen 1 2-4 5, Kelsey Borgman 3 7-8 14, Sophia Sullivan 1 2-5 5, Lanie Narwold 4 3-3 11, Kellsie Bedel 0 2-2 2. Totals: 13 17-24 49.
Hauser (10-13): June Berkenstock 0 0-0 0, Norah Berkenstock 4 0-1 9, Braelyn Williams 5 0-2 15, Kennedy Konradi 1 1-1 3, Willa Wetzel 0 0-0 0, Abby Manley 6 0-0 17, Haven Hartwell 0 0-0 0. Totals: 16 1-4 44.
3-point goals: Jac-Cen-Del 6 (Simon 3, Cullen, Borgman, Sullivan). Hauser 11 (Williams 5, Manley 5, N. Berkenstock).
