By BEN MURPHY
Cleaver Sportswriter
A solid defensive effort and timely offense allowed the Harrison girls basketball team to get their second win of the season last week. On Tuesday, Dec. 10, the Lady Hornets were playing at Jack Pine Conference foe Pinconning, winning the contest 30-17.
“We got off to a strong first quarter and slowly saw our lead get smaller until the (final) quarter), head coach Ryan Carlstrom said. “At the start of the fourth we were only up four and then Lydia Kendall hit some big shots to give us a boost. What really sealed the deal in my opinion was a fast break layup from Mya Gardner to put us up double digits with about two minutes to go. The girls also shot free throws the best we have all season which was nice to see.”
Janessa O’Day led the Hornets with 10 points while Kendall finished with nine. Kendall also had seven rebounds and two steals.
On Thursday, Dec. 19 Harrison lost a close JPC game in Gladwin, 40-38.
The Lady Hornets played well in this one, especially early on, but they ultimately couldn’t finish off the win.
“In this game we got off to another fast start, leading by two going into the fourth, much like the Pinconning game,” Carlstrom said. “However, this time, we were not able to hold onto our lead. It was a tough one to lose and especially having been our first time losing this season. I think we all learned a lot about ourselves and found the areas we really need to improve. For example, free throws. We shot 7-17 from the line, which ultimately isn't good enough to win games and it clearly showed”
Sam Hopkins drilled four three pointers in the game to account for her 12 points. Kendall also netted 11 points.
Harrison also lost a JPC game, 74-43 against visiting Meridian on Tuesday, Dec. 17. While it was a loss for them, there was still plenty of things to take positively from the Hornets’ efforts.
“Kendall was our leading player in this game, she had 21 points and 12 rebounds while shooting an efficient 50-percent from the field,” Carlstrom said. “Hayley Neff stepped up big in this game as well. She had 11 points for us and was also very efficient from the field, going four-of-five.
Both of these girls played great defensively, combing for four charges taken between the two of them. Unlike the last few games, we got off to a very slow start which killed us.”
While the slow start cost them a shot at winning the game, they still played well in the final two quarters.
“We were down a little more than 20 at the half, but in the second half of the game is when we really started to play our best ball,” Carlstrom said. “We had kept a pretty even second half with them. I told the girls I was proud of them and I'm looking forward to doing this on a more consistent basis. I feel like in the second half we started to turn the page and I can't wait to see where it takes us.”
Harrison (2-2 overall, 1-2 JPC) will play again Jan. 9 at St. Louis and they will return home Jan. 14 to take on Ogemaw Heights.
“We are off to a 2-2 start to the season and I believe we are trending in the right direction,” Carlstrom said. “Probably one of the best starts the girls program has had in a while. I made sure to tell the girls to get used to it, because we have a lot more winning to do this season. We are off until after break and we open up with St. Louis, which should be a good challenge for us.”
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