After playing excellent defense in the first half of the Class A State Tournament Championship game, the Lady Owls went into halftime leading 21-17. In the first few minutes of the second half, an invisible lid of sorts was covering their basket as they fell behind 26-21 before Stacie Cunningham's free throw broke the jinx to make it a four-point game. They valiantly fought back to tie the game at 28-28 before fading in the final minutes to the intense pressure and size of the Fulda Raiders, who won their second straight state championship.
The Lady Owls finish the season with a outstanding record of 26-3, three championships (Pheasant Conference, Sub-Section 5A-South, Section 5A), and a Class A State Runners-up trophy. They represented their community and Section 5A with an incredible level of class, distinction, and hard play throughout the entire tournament.
More will be added soon, including details of their Ada-Borup win, and a large number of state tournament photos.
The Lady Owls took the court at Target Center for the championship game against Fulda with a certain amount of confidence, knowing they could step up to the challenge of facing the highly-touted defending state champions.
After winning the tip-off, the Lady Owls went up 3-0 on their first possession with a baseline three by Tara Thielke. After Fulda missed their first shot, Chelsea Voorhees snared the defensive rebound. They capitalized when Bree Holleman drained her first shot with another trey to put the Lady Owls ahead 6-0 with 16:43 on the clock.
Fulda quickly answered, hitting two treys of their own in the next 90 seconds of play. The Raiders' use of a 2-3 zone defense, a surprise for the hometown coaches, was then scrapped in exchange for an intense man defense to add more pressure on the arc.
Holleman answered that by breaking the tie on the Lady Owls' next possession with a
layup off an offensive rebound on the right wing.
Six minutes into the game, Voorhees had picked up her second foul, sending Hannah Newhouse into the action. She did an excellent job filling in at center, a tall order against the superior size of the Raiders' front line.
The Lady Owls continued their scoring barrage from the arc as Jenny Noordmans ripped the cords for her first bucket of the game, followed by another trey by Holleman with 7:37 left to put her team up 14-8.
After Fulda made it 14-12, Newhouse answered at 5:00 with a short baseline shot. The Raiders hit a three on their next possession, but Noordmans then hit a baseline shot of her own at 3:55 to keep the Lady Owls on top 18-15. With 1:47 left, Lindsie Cunningham came in to replace a foul-saddled Newhouse, and the Raiders closed to within one point with two free throws, down 18-17.
A mere 17 seconds later, Holleman answered with yet another three-pointer, the final bucket of the first half which ended with the Lady Owls on top 21-17.
The team was confident about the second half, owning the lead even though they never went to the free throw line in the first 18 minutes of play. They had held a team with almost a 70-point offensive average to 17 first half points.
The Raiders came out with a vengeance, scoring nine unanswered points in the first 3:30 of play out of the locker room. None of the Lady Owls' shots were falling until Stacie Cunningham's free throw broke the jinx with 13:06 left, making it a 26-22 deficit.
The play became very physical, as both teams clamped down with man-to-man defense, denying easy shots anywhere on the floor.
After facing a 28-22 deficit, Noordmans fired an open three-pointer with 9:19 left, followed only 19 seconds later by a trey from Thielke that knotted the score at 28-28 halfway through the second period. The Hancock fans roared as the comeback they had hoped for seemed to be unfolding.
The Raiders ratcheted the pressure even higher, and the Lady Owls could not get to the free throw line while attempting to penetrate the lane.
After falling behind 30-28, their only hope was to slow the Raiders' offense with their press. That is exactly what they did with 5:30 left, as their press forced them out of bounds. They could not capitalize, however, and the Raiders made them pay by scoring a layup on a steal with 3:11 left, making it 32-28.
Tara Thielke grabbed a steal of her own and flew downcourt for a layup, only to be hammered to the floor while going up. It was a foul the referee crew could not ignore, and with ice in her vains Thielke drained both free throws with 2:24 left, making it a one-possession game.
What was the biggest dagger in the final minutes came next, a three pointer by the Raiders on the baseline with 2:08 left, making it 35-30.
After possession changed hands twice, the Raiders hit a bonus free throwo to make it 36-30 with 1:12 left. Ten seconds later, Holleman hit a floater on the left wing to make it 36-32, sending Hancock fans into a frenzy.
In the final minute, the game would not go the Lady Owls' way. Fulda hit one field goal, and three free throws to get to 42 points. The Lady Owls got a bucket from Lindsie Cunningham down low on the baseline to get to 34 points.
Once the final buzzer sounded, the Lady Owls walked off the court with a small degree of sadness tempered with a great sense of accomplishment, knowing they had given 110% through seven challenging playoff games to give Hancock a team that will never be forgotten.
The welcome-home celebration for the Lady Owls will be at 2:00pm on Sunday at the Hancock High School.
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