49TH ANNUAL LADY HAWK INVITATIONAL
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HARDIN CALHOUN 52, NOKOMIS 51
The Lady Warriors escaped with a nail-biting win over the Redskins Wednesday night in the 49th Annual Lady Hawk Invitational quarterfinals at Carrollton High School.
Calhoun jumped out to a 6-2 lead after a couple of baskets from Kate Zipprich and another from Audrey Gilman, but Nokomis scored the next six points to take an 8-6 lead after the first quarter.
Becca Hill's three-pointer tied the game at six before Natalie Brownback scored to take the lead.
After going down 14-8, the Warriors used a nine-point run to retake the lead. Bralyn Lammy's steal and score followed by another Zipprich basket made it 17-14 Calhoun. They continued to lead 21-16 at halftime.
Grace DeWerff opened the second half with a three followed by Camryn Engelman's basket as Nokomis tied the game back up at 21. Calhoun would pull away again to a six-point lead, but the Redskins quickly erased that and tied it back up again at 31.
From there, the teams traded the lead, but it was Nokomis in control 39-35 after three.
It wasn't looking too good when Nokomis went ahead 48-44 with 1:56 left with Zipprich fouling out on the play.
But Maddie Kiel's two free throws and a clutch three from Gilman gave Calhoun a 49-48 lead with just over a minute remaining.
Alivia Sabol made one free throw to tie the game at 49. Calhoun's Claire Hagen made two more free throws to go back ahead, right before DeWerff's basket tied it at 51.
Calhoun inbounded the ball with hopes of making a game-winning shot. While going for a layup, Kiel was fouled with 5.8 seconds left on the clock. She missed the first, but made the second to take a one-point lead.
Nokomis had plenty of time to get a shot off, but weren't able to get a good look as the Warriors survived and advanced.
Calhoun head coach Mark Hillen knew it was going to be a tough night.
"This tournament is a great tournament," he said. "You've got to work hard every round."
"With this group, we've had a couple wins like this," Hillen continued. "We don't give up, we keep fighting, it may not look pretty at times but our girls keep fighting and made just enough plays down the stretch to get it done tonight."
Gilman led the Warriors with 20 points while Zipprich added 16.
DeWerff scored 15 points for Nokomis while Brownback added 11, Engelman had eight, and Sabol had seven.
Calhoun improves to 19-3 and advances to the second semifinal against Staunton on Thursday, Jan. 25 at 8 p.m.
STAUNTON 51, WEST CENTRAL 41
In the fourth and final quarterfinal game of the 49th Annual Lady Hawk Invitational, the Staunton Bulldogs were able to overcome a slow start and beat the Cougars.
After Central opened the game on a 5-0 run, the Bulldogs managed to tie the game at six after Lilly Bandy's basket and then take an 8-6 lead after Samantha Anderson scored.
Central's Brylee Lawson scored to tie it again and then made a couple of free throws to take a 10-8 lead after the first quarter.
Vickie McGee grabbed a steal and scored to open the second, right before Staunton used a five-point run to take a 13-12 lead. Central then had back-to-back three-pointers from Ali Little and Trystan White to take an 18-13 lead.
From their, the Bulldogs ended the half on an 8-2 run, capped off with Ella Fieldmann's basket to take a 21-20 lead into the locker room.
Bandy scored to open the second half and regain the lead for the Cougars, but it would be their last. Staunton used a seven-point run to take a 28-22 lead and remained in control from there, going up 39-29 after three quarters as they went on to the 10-point win.
Feldmann led the Dogs with 14 points while Jenna Staggs had nine, Anderson had eight, Grace Bekeske had seven, Bandy had six, and Lilly Troeckler had five.
Lawson was Central's only double-digit scorer with 11 points.
Staunton improves to 19-3 on the season and will face Hardin Calhoun in the semifinals on Thursday, Jan. 25 at 8 p.m.
TUESDAY'S RESULTS
FATHER MCGIVNEY 54, BEARDSTOWN 35
ALSO: TOP-SEEDED GRIFFINS GET BY BEARDSTOWN - SET UP SEMIFINAL AGAINST HOSTING HAWKS
CARROLLTON 51, JERSEYVILLE 38
ALSO: CARROLLTON CRUISES PAST PANTHERS IN SECOND ROUND OF LADY HAWK INVITATIONAL
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