Hali Smith had a double-double with 13 points and 12 boards while Ava Rinehart had 13 points and 8 steals, but a shorthanded North Harrison squad was denied consolation with a 47-36 loss to South Harrison's JV squad. They lost 49-33 to a rapidly improving Mercer squad, and they picked up their seventh win of the year with a 44-36 win over East Harrison. But the win over the Bobcats came at a price, as they lost Gracie Young to an injury, leaving them with five players. But there is a light at the end of the tunnel on the horizon. Stella Rinehart is joining the team mid-season to team with Ava to form a second itineration of the Crazy Cousins after Jaci Davis and Lani Briggs pulled it off last year. If the Shamrocks get Young back, that will bring them up to seven, making them better able to rest key players.
They played against a South Harrison JV squad led by Rory Fitzgerald, only a freshman, but who dominated the game against the Shamrocks with 13 points and 20 boards for the night. The Bulldogs were swarming and pressing all night, forcing 25 Shamrock turnovers. North Harrison fought back, forcing 23 South Harrison turnovers. But the big difference was in the number of bodies South Harrison could throw into the game; they used all eight of their players at some point, whereas North Harrison didn't have a bench they could turn to. The difference told in the rebounding, where South Harrison outrebounded North Harrison 51-34. But North Harrison was able to make several charges after falling behind before they finally faded in the fourth quarter.
The Shamrocks actually led 8-6 late in the first quarter behind four points from Hali Smith and two from Jaxcynn Hansel and Ava Rinehart. But then the purple shirts' pressure and rebounding started to pay off as baskets from Rory Fitzgerald and Ambrey Hunter put South Harrison up 10-8 after one. A steal from Kataya Sunderman, a shot in the high post from Pyper Giles, and a 3-pointer from Hunter put South Harrison up to stay at 17-8.
The Bulldog lead grew to as much as 25-13 before Hali Smith hit three late free throws in the half to cut it to 25-16. North Harrison had a chance to capitalize on the momentum at the end of the half, but it was South Harrison who came out on fire. Jaxcynn Hansel picked up her third foul, putting the Shamrocks in danger of finishing with four players, and Roxy Fitzgerald scored three, Hunter three, and Ella Estes two as South Harrison built their lead up to 33-14.
But then North Harrison showed the kind of grit coach Aaron Long had been looking for all year as Ava Rinehart started stealing the ball from South Harrison and hitting her shots. It was sparked when Hansel, playing with three fouls, took a charge on defense. Hansel followed with a drive and Rinehart a three pointer to make it 33-21. Pyper Giles and Ella Estes scored to make it 37-21, but then Hali Smith hit from the left wing and then Ava Rinehart hit a 35-footer with five seconds left to cut it to 37-26 after three.
Jaxcynn Hansel continued the momentum into the fourth quarter as she hit from the wing after Ava Rinehart inbounded it to cut it to 37-28. Fitzgerald hit a free throw to make it 38-28, but Hali Smith scored from inside and Rinehart added a steal to cut it to 38-32 with 5:59 left.
But then a series of lapses on the next sequence killed the momentum. First, Ella Estes hit two free throws. Then, Kataya Sunderman got a steal and made one of two; Rory Fitzgerald grabbed the offensive board on the ensuing miss and put it back in to make it 43-32 again. As a four-minute scoring drought for the Shamrocks piled up, Fitzgerald added a baseline shot and Ambrey Hunter hit a 3-pointer to make it 48-32. Ava Rinehart finally broke the drought with 1:41 left with a 3-pointer and Addison Milligan got on the board after a Rinehart steal, but South Harrison was able to run out the clock.
Ava Rinehart and Hali Smith had 13 points. Jaxcynn Hansel had 8, Addison Milligan 2, and Lani Briggs 1.
Hali Smith had 4 blocks and Jaxcynn Hansel 2.
Jaxcynn Hansel and Hali Smith had 12 boards each. Addison Milligan had 6 and Ava Rinehart 4.
Ava Rinehart and Hali Smith had 4 assists. Addison Milligan and Lani Briggs had 2 each.
Ava Rinehart had 6 tips. Jaxcynn Hansel had 4, Addison Milligan and Hali Smith had 2, and Lani Briggs had 1.
Ava Rinehart had 8 steals. Hali Smith had 6, Lani Briggs 2, and Jaxcynn Hansel and Addison Milligan had 1 each.
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