The Hinton and Gehlen Catholic girls basketball teams met in a War Eagle Conference matchup on Friday night in a game that Hinton came away on top of by a 69-35 final score.
The game did not start out the way the final score suggests. Gehlen Catholic was in control for the first few minutes of the game jumping out to a quick 5-0 lead. That is when Hinton head coach Matt Leary called a timeout to talk things over. The Blackhawks then went on an 8-0 run to take the lead and never look back. Coach Leary says he just needed to remind the team that there was plenty of game left.
One of the main reasons for the lopsided score was Hinton’s tight full court defense giving Gehlen Catholic some trouble. The Blackhawks forced numerous turnovers that led to baskets the other way. Coach Leary says his offense thrives when the defense is working like it was Friday night.
Even with the troubles that Hinton’s defense caused, the Jays never felt out of the game. Head Coach Brandon Schaecher says there was a different kind of excitement on the floor for his team even when the deficit was growing.
Part of the execution problem for the Jays is the amount of time they execute what they want to do. Coach Schaecher says at times it feels like they tread water when it comes to doing the right thing.
Hinton’s offense finished with five players putting up eight or more points with a pair in double digits. The Blackhawks proved all night that they play unselfish basketball. Coach Leary says the chemistry his team plays with is impressive.
Gehlen Catholic now drops their second game in a row to fall to 2-8 overall and 1-4 in the War Eagle Conference. Things only get tougher from here for Gehlen with more games piling up in the month of January. Coach Schaecher says if his team comes out with the energy they had against Hinton in every game, they will do some good things down the stretch.
Hinton now sits at 7-2 overall and 3-1 in the War Eagle Conference with the win. The Blackhawks have just a pair of losses on the season with both coming against top-five teams. For the Blackhawks to get past future tough tests, they will need to play a full 32 minutes of basketball.
Ashlyn Kovarna led the Hinton offense with 17 points. Rysaiah Sitzmann recorded the top total for the Jays with 12 points.
