This big win at Ortonville also propelled them with big momentum towards being the top team in Sub-Section 5A-South, as they will face stiff competition from K-M-S, Ortonville, and Osakis for the Number-One seed next March.
After an initial tie of 3-3 in the opening minutes, the Lady Owls' offense heated up the Ortonville gymnasium while building leads of 16-9, 24-15, and finally 31-19 at halftime, using great outside shooting (six treys) and great defense in the paint to go into the locker room with a lead.
Most noteworthy about their great play in the first half was that the team expanded their lead from 13-9 to 31-19 at halftime without leading scorer Tara Thielke, who took the bench with two fouls at the 9:00 mark. The coaches knew that their best player could not enter halftime with three fouls in what was expected to be a close and physical game. Freshmen Lindsie Cunningham came in with a big task at hand, driving around the tall Ortonville guards and forwards, playing a solid perimeter game to fill in for senior sharpshooter Thielke.
The Lady Owls picked up where they left off at halftime by running their press at full steam, getting two straight unanswered buckets to go up 35-19 in the first 25 seconds of the second half. They built a lead as big as 50-27 before Ortonville standout Tabitha Henrich sparked a stagnant Trojans' offense with a trey and two paint shots of her own.
The Trojans displayed a very rough and physical style of play over the game's final 10 minutes, hoping to make a move on Hancock's big lead. The Lady Owls were fully up to the task, pushing the ball upcourt and matching the Trojans' intensity in the paint. Ortonville would get no closer than 10 points, down 58-48 with 2:55 on the clock, as their rough-and-tumble movements sent Hancock to the free throw line. There the Lady Owls responded with gusto by draining nine-of-ten free throws in the game's final three minutes, showing their superior stamina and focus to the final buzzer.
In the final seconds, a great steal and layup by Stacie Cunningham on the press put an exclamation point on this hard-earned win by the Lady Owls, as they move to 2-0 in Pheasant Conference play and 6-0 overall. It was their first win over Ortonville since February 10, 2004, during Tara Thielke's freshmen season when they went 1-1 with the Trojans in Pheasant Conference play. Ortonville is now 0-1 in the Pheasant and 2-4 overall.
The Lady Owls travel to Wadena-Deer Creek to face the Wolverines in non-conference action on Thursday, December 21. After Christmas they will participate in the Lac qui Parle Valley Invite at the Eagles' High school near Madison on Thursday and Friday, December 28 & 29.
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