Jaxcynn Hansel and Hali Smith went beast mode Monday night as the North Harrison Shamrocks posted their fifth win of the season, 36-17 over Pattonsburg. Previously, they came to Worth County in search of their first win and took the Tigers to double overtime before falling. That game turned out to benefit both teams as Worth County ripped off a big winning streak and North Harrison hung 60 on East Harrison the next night. The Shamrocks proceeded to win five out of their next eight games, with two wins over East Harrison, a tough Princeton squad, and Grundy County before Monday's win.
The game was supposed to be close as the Shamrocks took Worth County to double overtime, while Pattonsburg lost by 4 to Worth County. But North Harrison took control early as Ava Rinehart hit a shot from the right side off a Hali Smith kickout, a Lani Briggs drive set up Hali backdoor, and Lani hit from the right wing off a pass from Hansel. Addi Iddings hit a pullup, but Hali Smith responded with a drive down the baseline to put North Harrison up 8-2 after one.
Two things were evident from the first quarter; Hansel was well on her way to dominating the boards, getting seven in the first quarter on her way to 22. Hali Smith added 6 boards in the second quarter and went on to get 17 for the night. Everybody else chipped in as well. North Harrison had been struggling this year against pressure defenses, and they still turned it over 21 times against Bill Pottorff's relentless multiple looks. But they more than made up for it on the defensive end, only allowing one shot down the court, giving up only four offensive rebounds, and collecting 60 as a team.
Hali Smith got loose in transition and Lani Briggs hit Hansel on the wing to make it 12-2 to start the second; Jaxcynn has established herself as a scoring threat as well as a rebounding machine. Iddings hit for Pattonsburg, but Hansel countered again and Addison Milligan got behind the Panther press and got a pass from Lani Briggs to make it 16-4. Milligan was pressed into service against Worth County and hit a tough shot over Worth County's tall front line to send the game to the second overtime, and ever since then, she has steadily earned her way into becoming the first player off the bench. Jaden Goble cut it to 16-5 with a free throw, but Lani Briggs hit a pullup to make it 18-5 at the 2:42 mark. It would have been worse, but then Briggs picked up her third foul trying to steal the ball from Addi Iddings and sat on the bench the rest of the half as the teams played to a stalemate.
But Briggs returned for the third quarter and didn't pick up another foul. Meanwhile, Hali Smith drove down the left baseline. Taylen Fore countered with an inside shot, but Hali Smith hit Jaxcynn Hansel on the left wing and then Lani Briggs proceeded to take over the third quarter, getting four assists in the period. She hit Ava Rinehart backdoor, Hali Smith on the right side, Hali again in transition for a free throw, with Jaxcynn Hansel cleaning up on Hali's second miss, and Hansel inside as the lead grew to 30-9.
But the Panthers' relentless pressure began to take its toll; the Shamrocks have tended to wear down against teams that live and die by the press, and sure enough, the Panthers started to come back. Cheyenne Miller had the hot hand for them, getting six of their eight points as the Panthers got it down to 30-17 with 4:14 left, still plenty of time.
This time, however, the Shamrocks kept their composure and Ava Rinehart got loose in transition and got a pass from Gracie Young to break the run. After a stop on defense, Lani Briggs hit a dagger three from Young and Hansel added a free throw at the end.
Hali Smith had 11 points, Jaxcynn Hansel 10, Lani Briggs 7, Ava Rinehart 6, and Addison Milligan 2.
Jaxcynn Hansel had 4 blocks and Hali Smith 2.
Jaxcynn Hansel had 22 boards. Hali Smith had 17, Gracie Young 7, Lani Briggs 5, Addison Milligan 4, Lani Briggs 3, and Bentley Glenn 2.
Lani Briggs had 8 assists. Gracie Young had 4, Hali Smith and Addison Milligan 2 each, and Jaxcynn Hansel 1.
Hali Smith had 4 tips. Lani Briggs had 3, Gracie Young and Ava Rinehart 2 each, and Addison Milligan 1.
Hali Smith had 5 steals. Jaxcynn Hansel had 3, and Lani Briggs and Gracie Young 1 each.
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