By Craig Beilfuss
LocalSportsJournal.com
HART–The Hart Pirates relied on their bench for some key minutes down the stretch on Friday night and defeated upset-minded Mason County Central for the Division 3 district title.
Hart advanced to the regionals with a 43-34 victory over the Spartans.
“We weren’t moving well tonight and I thought we had bad ball movement,” said Hart coach Travis Rosema. “It is tough to beat someone three times in a row. My girls gave great effort. We were down, my girls were in a bad spot. We were just resilient and gave great effort and am really proud of them. It feels good to win any district championship.”
In stepped senior Chloe Coker and sophomore Kelsey Copenhaver.
Hart trailed the Spartans 34-30 heading into the fourth quarter. With 3:28 remaining, and Hart trailing 34-31, Coker hit a shot from beyond the arc to knot the score up at 34-all. Copenhaver took over from there as she gave the Pirates the lead for good scoring two consecutive baskets. Hart went on to shutout Mason County Central 13-0 in the final eight minutes to secure the win.
Chloe Coker of Hart (Photo/Leo Valdez)
“It was cool. I didn’t make any all game, but I made the one we needed,” said Coker of her 3-pointer that tied the score.
“I was pretty nervous, it was scary,” Copenhaver said of her key buckets down the stretch. “There are a lot of other girls that play over me and I knew that I needed to make a difference when I got in there.’
Kelsey Copenhaver from Hart (Photo/Leo Valdez)
A trio of players hit double digits for Hart, led by junior Abby Hicks with 13 points, six rebounds and five steals. Senior Aspen Boutell tossed in 11 points. Sophomore Addi Hovey scored 10 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and had three blocked shots.
Hart jumped out to a 12-4 first-quarter lead as Hovey led the way with two 3-pointers. The Pirates looked like they were in total control with a 14-4 lead in the second stanza before Mason County Central went on a 10-0 run to tie things up at 14-all. Wren Nelson scored six points during the Spartan spurt. Hart closed out the first half with a 20-16 lead.
Mason County Central forged ahead by the end of the third quarter by outscoring Hart 18-10 to take a 34-30 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Nelson led the Spartan offense with 12 points, 10 rebounds and two blocked shots. Mallory Miller finished with nine points. Grace Weinert tossed in five points and dished out six assists. Eva Hradel grabbed six rebounds while Charlie Banks hauled in eight rebounds.
“Our girls executed the game plan to perfection,” said Spartans coach Mike Weinert. “I thought if they did that and didn’t turn the ball over we’d be in great shape. I thought we shot the ball okay, but not great. At the end when things tightened up, they (Hart) always know who they are going. They have played in a lot of tight ballgames in the past. We just made a few too many mistakes in the fourth quarter and they made the shots,” said Weinert.
Mason County Central finishes the season 19-5.
Hart (21-3) will face Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian (17-7) in regional action at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Shelby High School.
Photos courtesy of LSJ photographer Leo Valdez
