Madelyn Poe
WALDRON — Right from the opening tip, Saturday night’s first-round sectional girls basketball game between Hauser and Jac-Cen-Del belonged to the Eagles.
Class A No. 5 Jac-Cen-Del used a huge run in the first quarter and never looked back to hand the Jets a season ending 75-40 loss.
“Tonight was one of those where our shots weren’t falling, and I give credit to Jac-Cen-Del,” Hauser coach Chad Evans said. “They did a good job of taking us out of stuff that we wanted to do. I‘ve got to give them credit for that. We got back on our heels a little bit, and when shots didn’t fall, we got down on ourselves a little bit.”
Evans completed his third season as the Jets coach. It’s been an improved in the win column each year with seven wins his first season, eight the second year and 10 wins this season.
“The girls overall throughout the whole season, we knew we were going to be OK. We didn’t reach some of our goals we wanted to reach,” Evans said. “I think they improved as the season went on. There were a few games that could have went either way.
“We could have been sitting at 13 or 14 wins.”
With the score tied at 6-6, the Eagles (18-6) went on a 22-2 run to lead 28-8. Madelyn Poe hit two free throws to stop the bleeding right before the end of the quarter as Hauser (10-13) trailed 28-10.
After Jac-Cen-Del converted a four-point-play, the Jets went on a quick 8-0 mini-spurt to trail 32-18. That would be as close as Hauser would get the rest of the game as the Eagles went on a 13-2 run to end the half to lead 45-20.
For the Jets, Poe finished with a team-high 13 points and Norah Berkenstock had three 3-pointers to finish with 12. Gabby Johns, the lone senior for Hauser, finished with seven in her final high school basketball game.
Johns set the school record this year for rebounds in a season with 190 prior to Saturday night’s game. It got a little emotional for Johns when she checked out of the game for the final time.
“I can’t speak highly enough of (Johns) getting 190-plus rebounds in a year,” Evans said. “She did a great job, and I’m very proud of her for being a senior. She epitomizes what a Hauser Jet is supposed to be like. She’s a great kid on and off the floor. I’m very proud of her.”
Even with the loss of Johns, the Jets return everyone else for next year.
“I told the girls in the locker room that with the kids coming back and a young team we have, I wouldn’t have a doubt in my mind, they could be favorites in the sectional,” Evans said. “Hopefully, that’s what they can do. I think they’ve got the capabilities and the tools to get the groundwork set. It’s up to them to actually do it. Hopefully, they can pull that off next year because that would be great for them. We’ll see what happens in the spring and summer how much they want to work at it and get better at it.”
