North Harrison’s girls had every reason to be worried about a long bus ride down to Linn County to take on the Mustangs. Playing in an unfamiliar gym, things could have gone south in a hurry. But the Shamrocks pulled away late in the first quarter after a slow start and cut down on their turnovers after the first quarter, only committing six in the final three quarters after committing five in the first. After failing to beat six-win North Andrew on their home floor two games before, they locked down on defense, rebounded at will, and got good scoring nights from Hali Smith, Addison Milligan, and Jaxcynn Hansel as they got a 50-18 win against Linn County, with a similar record as North Andrew.
A lot of the Shamrocks’ improvement this year has come from Lani Briggs raising her level of play, occupying the defense, and creating daylight for the other four players on the floor even when she doesn’t score, similar to what Kambree Briner has done for Worth County. Linn County decided to take Briggs out of the equation, faceguarding her everywhere she went. Up stepped Hali Smith, who went to the rack early and often on her way to scoring 22 points. She went beast mode, grabbing 15 boards as well.
A big factor in the Shamrocks’ resurgence has been the play of Addison Milligan. She started earning minutes in junior high when she was pressed into service in an overtime thriller against Worth County and hit a clutch basket in traffic, sending the game to an extra overtime before the Tigers finally won. Addison has been in the rotation ever since, doing all the little things that don’t always get credit or notice.
Finally, this year, Addison grew a few inches and has started emerging as a rebounding force for the Shamrocks and has developed a newfound aggression. Finally, she moved up the rebounding ladder, going beast mode with 15 boards against Linn County. In all three games of their current winning streak, Milligan has had double figures in rebounding. She has always had a good midrange shot; with Briggs being faceguarded, she found plenty of daylight and got a double-double. Earlier, she struggled with foul trouble, fouling out in the Worth County game, but lately, she has learned to play hard without fouling.
Jaxcynn Hansel was also a force with 13 boards; she and Addison got their big paws in the air as Hansel had 5 blocked shots and Milligan 3 more. Ava Rinehart got her big paws involved as well, leading the team with seven steals; she and Addison combined to feed Hali in the paint. Having Gracie Young back from the flu made a big difference as North Harrison was able to rest key players a lot more throughout the game, a luxury they didn’t have in the Northeast Nodaway game.
Together, the trio of Smith, Milligan, and Hansel are turning into a force on the boards. The Shamrocks grabbed 53 boards against Linn County, a season high, and the kind of numbers that Gilman City has put up all the time during their big run into the state rankings.
A rare defensive lapse on the boards by the Shamrocks allowed Linn County to cut it to 6-4 at the 2:58 mark, but then they started to pull away as Addison Milligan scored one of her midrange shots after Jaxcynn Hansel grabbed an offensive board, Milligan caught a loose carom and scored, and Jaxcynn Hansel got a putback to make it 12-4 after one.
From there, Hali Smith took over the second quarter. She cashed in off an Ava Rinehart steal, then drove and scored after the Mustangs swarmed Lani Briggs. Hansel added a free throw, then Hali knocked down a baseline shot off a pass from Rinehart, split two defenders and finished after getting another pass from Rinehart, fed Addison Milligan inside for two, got behind the defense and got a pass from Milligan for two, slashed and scored for two, and got behind the defense as Gracie Young aired one out to her for two. By the time the dust had settled, North Harrison was up 29-7 at the half.
After Hali had 14 points in the second quarter, Linn County decided to faceguard her, but that left Jaxcynn Hansel open in the third. She started off by grabbing a fourth-chance putback and converting a three point play. Hali Smith converted a third chance putback despite all the pressure, Addison Milligan found Hansel backdoor for two, and then Ava Rinehart aired out an errant pass that Hali Smith saved from going out of bounds and then fed Hansel for two. Lani Briggs finally found some daylight and got on the line to hit two free throws to make it 40-9 after three.
The avalanche continued in the fourth as Jaxcynn Hansel got a putback, Hali Smith threw up an off-balance shot for two after Ava Rinehart got her the ball, Addison Milligan posted up and cashed in, Smith hit a baseline shot after Milligan got an offensive board, and Hali found Milligan in the high post for two.
Hali Smith had 22 for the Shamrocks. Addison Milligan and Jaxcynn Hansel had 12 each. All three had double-doubles. Lani Briggs had 4.
Jaxcynn Hansel had 5 blocks and Addison Milligan 3.
Hali Smith and Addison Milligan had 15 boards. Jaxcynn Hansel had 13, Ava Rinehart 5, Gracie Young 3, and Raegan Hogan 2.
Addison Milligan had 6 assists. Ava Rinehart had 5, Hali Smith 4, Jaxcynn Hansel 2, and Lani Briggs and Gracie Young 1.
Ava Rinehart had 6 tips. Hali Smith had 5, Lani Briggs 3, and Addison Milligan, Jaxcynn Hansel, Kaydence Lambert, and Raegan Hogan had 1.
Ava Rinehart had 7 steals. Hali Smith and Gracie Young had 3, Lani Briggs 2, and Addison Milligan, Kaydence Lambert, and Jaxcynn Hansel had 1.
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