Hancock Owls Defeat Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa Tonight 64-49 in Regular Season Finale

The Hancock Lady Owls hosted the B-B-E Jaguars tonight in non-conference action for their final game of the regular season, also Parents' Night.

They did not let down the large home crowd, as they built on a 20-16 halftime lead to run away with the game in a nice double-digit win. It made it two years in a row that they have defeated B-B-E in regular season play. B-B-E's last win over the Owls was in the 2004 Section 5A-South quarterfinals, when the Jaguars won 62-48 and the Owls finished 7-17. The Owls have steadily improved every season since then, going 11-13 the following year and 16-9 in the 2005-2006 season.

The Lady Owls will now enter Section 5A playoffs with a 20-3 overall record as the number-one seed in the south bracket. They went 17-1 against Class A competition and 3-2 against Class AA teams this season.

Their playoff opener is Thursday, March 1, at Morris Area in their new gymnasium, where they will play either St.John's Prep or Wheaton-Herman-Norcross. Tip-off is 6:00.

Lady Owls Cap Perfect Pheasant Conference Record, 62-45 Win at Wheaton-Herman-Norcross

The Hancock Lady Owls had already clinched the Pheasant Conference title outright with their overtime win over Ortonville last week. They went to work at Wheaton to complete an unbeaten record in the Pheasant Conference (6-0) and did so with senior wing Tara Thielke leading the way with 23 points. It is their first conference title since the 2002-2003 season, when they also finished as Section 5A-South runners-up.

Boxscore: Tara Thielke 23, Bree Holleman 20, Jenny Noordmans 9, Stacie Cunningham 5, Lindsie Cunningham 3, Chelsey Voorhees 2.

The Lady Owls' next action is this Friday (Feb 16) when they host the 14-6 Brandon-Evansville Chargers at the Hancock High School. The Chargers are currently in 3rd place in the Section 5A-North standings. The Lady Owls need a win to ensure they remain on top of the Section 5A-South standings.

Lady Owls Suffer Their Second Straight Defeat, 52-51 at Montevideo

The Hancock Lady Owls lost for only the third time this season, its second loss against a Class AA team, as they fell 52-51 on the homecourt of the Montevideo Thunderhawks (10-8).

A shot by the T-Hawks in the final seconds gave them the win, as they overcame a halftime deficit of 34-27 to the Lady Owls.

Boxscore:
17-49 FG (6-20 3-pt); 11-19 FT; 9 fouls
Scoring: Stacie Cunningham 3, Bree Holleman 14, Chelsea Voorhees 3, Tara Thielke 14, Jenny Noordmans 17.
3-point shots: Holleman 3, Thielke 2, Noordmans 1.

Their next game is one week from tonight in Wheaton against the Wheaton-Herman-Norcross Warriors (1-3 Pheasant, 2-13 overall). A win over the Warriors would give the Lady Owls sole possession of the Pheasant Conference championship, a banner that has eluded them the past three seasons.

Lady Owls Suffer Second Loss of Season -- 56-50 Against Minnewaska Area

Saturday night on their homecourt, the Hancock Lady Owls lost for only the second time this season, as they fell to the neighboring Minnewaska Area Lakers (11-6) 56-50. It was a non-conference game against a Class AA team, so it will not hurt their chances of getting the top seed in Sub-Section 5A-South.

Senior forward Sara Gregerson did the most damage for the Lakers, as she paced all players with 19 points.

Lady Owls boxscore: Scoring: Bree Holleman 14, Chelsea Voorhees 11, Tara Thielke 18, Jenny Noordmans 7
3-point shots: Holleman 2, Thielke 4, Noordmans 1
Rebound leaders: Voorhees 7
Assist leaders: Holleman 4
Steal leaders: Thielke 3

This week the lone game for the Lady Owls is a trip to Montevideo on Tuesday (Feb 6) to face the Thunderhawks in non-conference action, their second straight matchup with a Class AA team. Montevideo is currently 9-8.