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The holiday break can be viewed as hitting the reset button. Teams that struggled in the initial part of the schedule can forget about the rough start. Others that went into the break with momentum have to reboot and find it again.
On Friday night, both the boys and girls team of Hiawatha and ACCHS fit that mold. In girls play, both teams had identical records at 2-3 and that alone showed the type of game that would take place.
ACCHS senior Leah Scholz couldn’t ask for a better start to start the new year. Out of the 15 points scored in the first quarter, 12 of which went to Scholz. Her hot start gave the Lady Tigers a 15-8 advantage heading into the second quarter. ACCHS continued to pounce on the Lady Red Hawks and extended the lead to 14 at the half, up 30-16.
Hiawatha came out of the break and had a solution to get back into the game: feed sophomore forward Emily Gartner. Hiawatha’s leading scorer only had two points in the first half, but erupted with 12 in the second half. The Lady Red Hawks claimed the lead in the fourth and both teams traded baskets, but at the end of regulation, the score was tied at 47-47. In overtime, Hiawatha was able to increase its lead to three with six seconds left. ACCHS pushed the ball down the court, fired up a shot at the buzzer, but couldn’t connect and the Lady Red Hawks won the game 54-51.
Hiawatha sophomore Emily Gartner finished with 19 points to go with her season average and recorded multiple rebounds and blocked shots. Senior Hosanna Fortmeyer and freshman Molly Kettler each chipped in nine points. For ACCHS, the Lady Tigers were led by the Bank of Atchison Player of the Game, Leah Scholz. The senior guard finished with 14 points. Junior Rachel Newquist helped the Lady Tigers with 11 points, all of which came in the second half.
Hiawatha improved to 3-3 on the season and go to 2-1 in the Big Seven. ACCHS fell to 2-4 and 1-2 in its first year in the league.
Boys competition was a battle between two teams searching for its first win on the season. After the first quarter, Hiawatha held the narrow lead, winning 13-12. The Red Hawks would slightly increase the advantage in the second quarter to go into the break, up 23-20. ACCHS couldn’t get the ball through the hoop in the second half as the Tigers only scored four points and Hiawatha would cruise to a 45-24 victory.
The Red Hawks were led by senior Conner Bigham. Hiawatha’s leading scorer recorded his season high with 21 points. The closest to Bigham in scoring was senior Parker Hasenkamp who added five points. ACCHS senior Quetan Reichart led the Tigers with 10 to be the Bank of Atchison Player of the Game.
Hiawatha recorded its first victory to put the Red Hawks at 1-5 (1-2) and plays Sabetha at home on Tuesday while ACCHS fell to 0-6 (0-3) and battles Riverside on the road.
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