Women's Basketball Overcomes Slow Start to Down Mount Marty
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Mount Marty (5-20, 1-18) | 20 | 14 | 20 | 16 | 70 |
|
Hastings (13-12, 9-10) | 17 | 18 | 22 | 30 | 87 |
Hastings, NE – The Hastings College women's basketball team got off to a sluggish start but finished strong to defeat Mount Marty 87-70 on Wednesday night inside Lynn Farrell Arena.
The Lancers built an 11 point lead at 32-21 with 4:04 to go in the second quarter as HC was struggling to get shot to fall. That is until the later part of the second. Mariyah Avila got things started with a driving layup and after a defensive stop, Lexi Kraft knocked down a jumper to make it 32-25 with 3:12 to go in the half.
After a couple of free throws from the Lancers, Miriam Miller found a wide open Kiernan Paulk in the corner for three to make it 34-28. Another defensive stop led to an Avila three from the top of the key as HC was now within three with 1:32 to go. Kraft and Miller would make a free throw each and Avila would also connect on a layup as Hastings took a 35-34 lead into halftime.
The game remained tight through the third quarter but the Lady Broncos would use a nice 8-0 run as Paulk got things started with a three, Avila drained two from the charity stripe and then Bailey Kissinger got a tough layup to go plus the foul as Hastings had the lead 67-56 with 7:06 to go.
MMU closed to within six but a Kissinger layup followed by a Kraft three put Hastings up 72-61 as the Lady Broncos would not look back again and win this one by 17.
Kraft had her best day as a Lady Bronco scoring 23 points as she was 7-for-10 from the floor and 6-of-9 from downtown to go along with four rebounds. Avila added 18 points while Kissinger finished with 17 as she was 5-of-8 shooting. Miller finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and a career high six steals.
Hastings finished the game shooting 46 percent (27-for-59) from the floor while the Lancers shot 45 percent (26-for-58). Turnovers were a big story as MMU committed 21 which turned into 25 points for HC while the Lady Broncos committed 14 that turned into just six points for Mount Marty. Rebounding was won by Hastings 41-to-38.
Hastings is now 13-12 (9-10) on the year and will be back in action Saturday Feb. 17 as Briar Cliff comes to town with tipoff set for 2:00 pm inside Lynn Farrell Arena. HC now sits in a tie for the eighth and final spot for the GPAC Tournament with Doane with three games remaining.
