O'FALLON - Edwardsville girls basketball senior forward Ashlyn Hauk played well in the Tigers' season opener on Nov. 19 at O'Fallon's OTHS Panther Dome in the Southern Illinois Shootout, leading the team with eight points - six of them in the final quarter -as the Tigers lost to Chicago Whitney Young 61-30 in the season opener.

Allison HaukHauk will be counted on as one of the team's key players this season and in the opener against the Dolphins, Hauk made several good plays and worked hard throughout the game as she helped the Tigers keep going, despite the score.

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For her hard work and contributions to the team, Hauk has been named as an iCan Clinic female Athlete of the Month.

Hauk, who plays for head coach Caty Happe, felt good about her contributions to the team but also knows that it's continued hard work in practice that will be one of the keys to the Tigers' success this season.

"I would say this is probably the most playing time I have had in a varsity game," Hauk said during a postgame interview, "so it was a lot different, trying to adjust and fill the roles we don't have this year from losing our three D-I players. So, I think every game's going to be different. In this game, we tried to practice and everything; it just wasn't enough. So, we have to practice 10 times harder now for our next game," she said with a laugh.

Although it will be hard to fill in the shoes of the players - Syd Harris, Elle Evans, and Macy Silvey - who graduated and are now playing Division-I basketball, the Tigers will continue to work hard all year and show a fighting spirit that is a trademark of the team.

"Yes, every single game's going to be different on who's our top shooters of the game," Hauk said, "who's playing best defense. We'll all have to fill different roles each game."

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Hauk sees her role on the Tigers as a team player, contributing what she can to each game.

"I would say just being an overall team player," Hauk said, "being able to make every single pass. And I'm going to work on my shot, too."

Hauk did make some good plays during the fourth quarter as she helped the Tigers come back in the game.

"I don't know, I just try to keep myself up and keep the team up," Hauk said. "It was kind of hard digging everyone down in the fourth quarter and with all the subs coming in and everything, it was hard to adjust with everyone. So I think once we get more comfortable with all of the subs and everyone coming in together, we'll be able to bounce off each other better."

Hauk has set three top goals for her to achieve in the 2022-23 season.

"I would say my top three goals is probably being able to be a leading shooter for the team," Hauk said, "and working on my defense and getting back fast and then, being able to make those tough passes to the inbound."

Although the result of the game wasn't one the Tigers would have liked, Hauk feels that it wasn't a bad start and it's only the beginning of big things for the club.

"Yeah, this is just a start," Hauk said. "I think we're really getting together as a team for our next game."

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