The third-ranked Hinton girls basketball team punched their ticket to the semifinal round of the state tournament with a dramatic come-from-behind win over No. 6 Rock Valley by the score of 53-47.
The game was many players’ first opportunity at playing on the floor at Wells Fargo Arena. Sydney Doeschot says it fulfilled everyone’s expectations and dreams they have had since they were little girls.
The Blackhawks trailed 25-13 at the end of the first half with the offense going just 5-27 from the field. Rock Valley took advantage by hitting a couple of threes and creating good scoring opportunities. Head coach Matt Leary says the Rockets were the more aggressive team early on.
The halftime message was very blunt for Hinton with a 12-point deficit looking them right in the eye. Doeschot says the Blackhawks needed to get back to what had gotten them to Des Moines in the first place.
The Blackhawks took that message to heart outscoring Rock Valley 15-2 right away out of the halftime break to take their first lead since the start of the game. Coach Leary was very pleased with the response from his team.
Hinton established an inside game which proved to be the difference in the second half. They ended up outscoring Rock Valley 20-4 in the paint which allowed them to get back on top. Karlyn Kovarna got the early momentum going, and says the inside game flipped things back in favor of Hinton.
Raelyn Kempema got into the scoring fun in the third quarter as well hitting a pair of huge threes. After a rough-shooting first half, Kempema says she needed to keep firing to get back into a rhythm.
Kovarna says when one person gets into a groove like both she and Kempema did, it becomes contagious to the rest of the team.
All the intangibles went Hinton’s way winning the rebounding battle and the turnover margin in the contest. Kempema says being able to have an impact in more ways than just scoring is huge to Hinton’s success.
Ultimately, all of the things that led to Hinton’s big comeback can be attributed to one thing. Coach Leary says that is the drive and fire from his girls, and that showed in many ways in the second half.
The Blackhawks move on with a 24-0 record into the state semifinal round. They have secured a date with the second-ranked Regals of Iowa City Regina. Coach Leary says all teams at this point are good, and the Blackhawks will have their hands full on Friday.
The Blackhawks and Regals will tip off at 11:45 AM on Friday morning in Des Moines. KLEM Radio’s coverage of the game is scheduled to start at 11:30 from Des Moines.
