On February 9th, the #3 ranked Highland Hawks took on the #6 ranked Hamilton Huskies in the Division-I, Section-II championship game.
Hamilton started the game off with 5-foot-9 junior guard Ashlee Moore hitting a three for the first points of the game. Shelby Hartman, 5-foot-8 junior forward for Hamilton, hurries back down the court to hit another three pointer to get the Huskies going - 6-0, Huskies.
Senior 5-foot-10 forward Kendall Adams (Idaho State signee) goes up for a layup and is fouled twice in the last 3 minutes of the quarter - only making 1 of 4 shots on the line.
Melinda Myers, a 6-foot junior for Highland, gets a nice assist from teammate Liz Rudd (Concordia College commit), 6-foot-1 senior center, to get her team a couple more points before the quarter ends. After a beautiful spin move under the basket by Adams, the Hawks respond by Rudd driving up the court and hitting a three-pointer.
The first quarter comes to an end with a 9-7 score, in the Huskies' favor.
The second quarter begins with a determined Myers, who starts her team off right with a three-pointer to get everyone going.
Aliyah Dickson, 6-foot senior forward for Hamilton, comes from out of nowhere to grab a rebound and put it back up to get two more points for her team.
Olivia Lucero, 5-foot-6 senior guard for Highland drives hard to the basket, putting two points on the board for her team, and, almost immediately after, recovers the ball again and throws up a three-pointer - 16-15, Hawks.
Then, Hamilton's Shelby Hartman tries to help her team - making a soft jump shot. But the Hawks respond with 6-foot-3 senior post Megan Brown hitting a three-pointer. This brings the game to a tie at 18.
Hamilton’s Dickson passes to Adams under the basket for an easy two points, getting their team back the lead. But Highland comes right back when Kayla Miranda, a 5-foot-6 senior guard, responds with a three-pointer - making the score 20-21, Hawks. The play in the game keeps the crowd on the edge of their seats.
Back-to-back charges are called - one for each team. Myers is fouled under the basket and makes both of her free-throws - giving the Hawks a three-point lead, 20-23.
Kendall Adams is called for her third foul of the game with less than a minute left in the half.
Highland's Mary Eckenrode, a 5-foot-6 junior guard, passes to Myers under the basket and puts up two more points for her team. The score is 20-25 Highland to end the first half of the game.
Dickson hits the first three of the third quarter - bringing her team within two of the Hawks.
The Hawks get the ball back and Myers grabs a rebound and puts it back up to score two more points.
Hartman comes up with a three-pointer from the top of the key for the Huskies, bringing the game to a score of 26-27, Hawks.
Not letting the huskies get a lead though, Lucero comes up with her third three-pointer of the game, shortly followed by another three less than a minute later - 26-33, Hawks.
Highland's Kathleen Cabrera, a 5-foot-7 senior guard, is fouled by Alexa Hogberg, a 5-foot-6 senior guard for the Huskies, in the last few seconds of the third quarter. Cabrera goes 1-for-2 on her free-throws.
Score at the end of the third quarter: Hamilton 26, Highland 34.
Brown is fouled on her layup attempt under the basket. She makes 1-of-2 shots and then drives back down the court shortly after to put up a successful layup - bringing the score to 26-37, Hawks.
Adams is fouled by Rudd going up for a shot and makes both her free-throws - making her 3 for 6 from the line on the evening.
Lucero is fouled by Moore, bringing the Hawks to an 11-point lead against the Huskies - 28-39, Hawks.
Hartman and Hogberg are both fouled for the Huskies with under five minutes left to play in the period, getting 3 extra points for their team. Regardless, the Hawks keep their lead - 31-42, Hawks.
Kendall Adams fouls out of the game when going for a steal, with 4:03 left in the game. Adams finished with 7 points for her team in the game.
Lucero is fouled by Moore and she makes both her free-throws. Then Liz Rudd comes in and helps her team extend their lead by hitting a three-pointer - 31-49, Hawks.
Rudd is fouled under the basket and makes both her free-throws. Miranda is put on the line twice in the last couple minutes of the game - making 1 out of 4 of her final free-throw shots for the night. The game comes to an end with a final score of Hamilton with 31 points, and Highland with 52.
Hamilton is led by Shelby Hartman, junior, who hit (3) three-pointers for her team in the loss.
The Hawks were led by Olivia Lucero who hit (4) three-pointers throughout the game; she was definitely clutch for the Hawks.
The Hawks are the Division-I, Section-II champions, and are sure to be one of the top teams to beat leading up to the State Championship.
