The No. 3 Hinton girls basketball team kept their perfect season in tact and advanced to the state tournament for the first time since 2009. They defeated No. 12 Westwood in a region final in Sioux City by the score of 49-35 on Wednesday night.
The Blackhawks had come up short in two-straight region finals leading into the matchup with Westwood. It was understandable that there would be some nervousness and jitters. Hinton head coach Matt Leary says his team did a nice job of fighting through that and sticking with the gameplan all throughout the night.
The Blackhawks have been the dominant team in northwest Iowa all season even with a roster of players that had not played together before. With many players transferring in to Hinton, that meant the growth was going to come throughout the season. Cherokee transfer and senior Addy Pigott says the girls meshed early, and that has paid off with a trip to state.
The start to the game was pretty slow with the first basket for either team coming three-and-a-half minutes into the first quarter. Coach Leary says his team was not worried because they knew they would get the game back to their style of play.
Defensively, Hinton had a tough matchup with Westwood post player Ashlyn Davis who averaged a double-double coming into the game. Raelyn Kempema was one player tasked with guarding Davis throughout the night. She says she was put in a good position to make plays on the ball.
Hinton thrived on their defense all night holding the Rebels to just 13 points in the first half of play. Sydney Doeschot says the team loves to play defense.
Offensively, once the Blackhawks got going it was tough to stop them. Even with the junk defense Westwood threw at Doeschot, she led the Blackhawks with 19 points on the night. Coach Leary says she is a tough basketball player that does not back down from a challenge.
When Doeschot was not able to score on a possession, she kept her head up looking for opportunities. She says that is what makes her such a tough player to guard.
The Blackhawks will take a 23-0 record to Wells Fargo Arena. It is a place all of these girls have dreamed of getting a chance to play at someday. Now, that is a reality for them. Pigott says that atmosphere is something she is really eager to be a part of.
Obviously, getting there is not the end goal for this group of Blackhawks. Doeschot says it will take a lot of focus in the days leading up to the tournament to be ready to go for whatever may come their way in Des Moines.
The state tournament may be a bit of a new thing for this Blackhawk group who broke a 16-year streak without qualifying. That does not mean they do not deserve to be there. Coach Leary wants the girls to treat this like a business trip and treat it like they know they belong under the bright lights.
Hinton has earned the third seed in Class 2A, and they will take on a northwest Iowa foe in the Rockets from Rock Valley. Tip-off will be at 11:45 AM on Wednesday, March 5. KLEM Radio will broadcast the game live with coverage anticipated to start at 11:30 AM.
