Norah Berkenstock
HOPE — An inexperienced Hauser girls basketball team got off to a rocky start Thursday night, but as the game went on, the Jets started to find a little bit of a rhythm.
Unfortunately for Hauser, visiting Batesville had jumped out to an early 16-2 lead on its way to a 57-28 victory in the season opener for both teams.
“We have a lot of first-time varsity players, and credit (Batesville) a little bit for some of the defense that they caused us to be out of sorts,” Hauser coach Kyle Shipp said. “I think nerves got a lot of us.”
The Jets, with no starter taller than 5-foot-8, had trouble with the Bulldogs’ inside duo of 5-11 juniors Alyson Peters (19 points, five rebounds) and Lydia Haskamp (eight points, eight rebounds). Peters and Haskamp combined for 14 first-quarter points as Batesville built a 21-5 lead.
The Bulldogs extended the lead to 33-12 at halftime and 48-22 after three quarters, as Hauser began gaining traction on both ends of the floor.
“The progression from that first half to the second half, we started getting a little bit more intune in our offense,” Shipp said. “We started working the ball side to side. We started getting middle attacks, and then we were able to utilize some of our drop downs. “I think that second half will really help us get the ball moving and kind of figure each other out,” Shipp said. “It was a really good second half for us.”
After committing 16 turnovers in the first half, the Jets turned it over only nine times in the final two quarters.
“I thought on the defensive end, we were doing a little bit better job, but the key thing was, we took care of the basketball,” Shipp said. “One of the things we’re going to work on all year long is taking care of the ball. We took care of the ball in the second half, compared to the first half.”
Norah Berkenstock led Hauser with 10 points. Senior newcomer Mattie Foster added eight points and five rebounds in her first varsity start.
“A lot of players played in different roles, so this was great for us tonight,” Shipp said. “I really think after our scrimmage and tonight, we’re much better going into our sectional opponents coming up the next two games.”
Batesville 57, Hauser 28
Batesville;21;12;15;9;—;57
Hauser;5;7;10;6;—;28
Batesville (1-0): Liv Maddock 0 0-0 0, Nora Wiedeman 1 0-0 3, Kaylin Kathman 1 0-0 2, Sydney Campbell 0 0-0 0, Grace Walter 0 2-4 2, Maddie Haskamp 1 0-0 2, Sophie Gesell 2 0-0 4, Marlee Obermeyer 3 2-2 9, Claire Saner 2 2-2 8, Alyson Peters 9 1-2 19, Lydia Haskamp 3 2-2 8. Totals: 22 9-12 57.
Hauser (0-1): June Berkenstock 0 0-0 0, Norah Berkenstock 3 4-8 10, Bella Kilps 3 0-0 6, Braelyn Williams 0 1-2 1, Erykah Everroad 0 0-0 0, Kennedy Konradi 0 0-0 0, Chloie Phelps 0 0-0 0, Abby Manley 1 1-2 3, Matie Foster 4 0-0 8. Totals: 11 6-12 28.
3-point goals: Batesville 4 (Saner 2, Wiedeman, Obermeyer); Hauser 0.
