Hancock’s Sierrah Driscoll, on the right, defends against West Iron County in a District 65 Division 3 semi-final on Wednesday March 4, 2020 in Hancock, Michigan (Mike Croze / For the Gazette)
HANCOCK – For the second consecutive game in the MHSAA Division 3 District 65 women’s basketball tournament, Hancock needed a big second half at home to continue.
The Bulldogs (12-9) delivered again, this time overcoming a 11-point halftime deficit Wednesday to eliminate West Iron County (10-11) in the district semifinals by 47-42. Hancock will host the district championship at 7 p.m. Friday.
Hancock head coach Dan Pertile – who was able to celebrate his birthday with a victory – summed up the first half. “Everyone could see (Hancock) playing hard. … (But) we missed a lot of opportunities in the basket at the start of the first quarter ”, he said. “We were just being over-executed, and obviously (Emily Iron senior from West Iron) inside is a handful. … She is really good. Use your body well. She is super strong. “
The Bulldogs survived a physical and disjointed battle against the Wykons to play another day, but West Iron won them all the way. Long-haul players dominated the competition with senior Hancock D’Andra Kero (22 points) leading all scorers. Nelson – a physical strength of 6 feet 1 inch – also produced 17 points, but missed a few critical minutes with a twisted ankle suffered at the end of the third quarter. She returned at the start of the fourth and played heroically, but was obviously hampered by the injury.
The two teams found themselves in the double bonus in the second half, and the repulsive shot became an important factor, ultimately determining the result. In particular, Hancock senior Taylor Sebbas and Kero combined to go 6-8 on the free throw line in the last two minutes to keep the game out of West Iron’s reach. Kero was 5-6 in total for the match with all of his foul shots coming in the second half.
The first quarter was tight early. After a triple in less than 20 seconds in the game by Wykon junior Tori Bociek, the score was kept close, but WIC finally got a 13-8 advantage at the first horn. The offensive rebounds were a force from the start for the Blue and the White.
To open the second quarter, WIC wanted to go up in the basket with post-ups and in transition. A 7-1 race to Wykon was crowned by a 3-point pointer from senior Anna Malmquist, thereby increasing WIC’s lead to 20-9. This difference would remain for the rest of the quarter. The Bulldogs simply had trouble running offensively and containing Nelson in the paint.
But just like Monday night against Ironwood, Hancock made a halftime adjustment to their intensity and Pertile decided to play with a lot of ball pressure. This decision bore fruit with forced turnover. Training and a score from Jordan Pertile senior reduced WIC’s lead to five points in the middle of the third quarter.
“(At halftime), we said” let’s put everything on the floor “,” said coach Pertile. “We started to trap. We started playing a little more and (West Iron) got a little scared. Fortunately, we were able to remove easy baskets from the turnovers and the big difference is that we still hit a few shots, just like the other night. “
West Iron responded with timely scores to keep Hancock at bay. Twice more in the next two minutes, the Bulldogs fired again in less than five points on Kero sweaters, including one at 3 points. But West Iron continued to respond to its own attacking end.
Then, with 1:40 to go in the third, Nelson came down hard under the WIC basket, apparently after stepping on Kero’s foot and injuring his left ankle after twisting him earlier in the season. She would miss the rest of the frame.
Hancock took advantage and Kero flew through the middle of the field and finished the rim, which brought the Bulldogs within two points for the first time in half time with 55 seconds remaining. This score, 34-32 West Iron, would remain until the start of the fourth quarter.
Nelson was able to resume play approximately one minute after the fourth treatment after being treated on the bench by the team coach. The teams traded shots until Hancock was able to force the first draw at 36-36 after an offensive rebound and a good pass from rookie Kaisa Salani to Kero for a paint job. Kero then drilled a three with 5:48 left to give Hancock his first lead, 39-36, which he would never give up.
Another bucket of Kero gave the Red and Yellow some leeway and although the WIC could remain aggressive and reach the shooting line and make free throws at a decent pace (3-5), Hancock was strong enough to close. things. The two Kero brands with 29 seconds remaining were particularly crucial in forcing a 2-game match at 46-42 in favor of Hancock.
“I thought it was a tale of two halves,” said Wykon coach Eric Shamion. “I thought that during the first half we controlled the game, kept them in a single digit in the two quarters, and I thought we handled the pressure very well.
“But (Hancock) came out with a little more energy, a little more fire in this second half. We ended up having easy buckets in the way, and maybe we were getting a little tired too. … The pressure has taken its toll. “
The Bulldogs will host Calumet for the district final.
West Iron 13 13 8 8 – 42
Hancock 8 7 17 15 – 47
WEST IRON COUNTY (42): Nelson 17, Shamion 9, Malmquist 7, Mazurek 4, Bociek 3, Grubbs 2. FT: 11-18. 3-point FG: Malmquist 2, Bociek 1.
HANCOCK (47): Kero 22, Sebbas 9, Salani 8, Driscoll 3, Hebert 3, Pertile 2. FT: 12-21. 3-point FG: Kero 2.
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