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The Hills-Beaver Creek girls’ basketball team won two games and lost one this past week, putting the season record at 5-10.
The Patriots beat Adrian 80-49 at home Jan. 17. They lost to MLA-C 47-36 in Hills Jan. 20, and they beat De Smet 50-49 on the road Jan. 21.
The Lady Pates were scheduled to travel to Edgerton Tuesday, Jan. 24, and they’ll host Murray County Central Friday, Jan. 26.
H-BC 80, Adrian 49
The Hills-Beaver Creek girls’ basketball team took on Adrian Tuesday, Jan. 17 in Hills where the Patriots slayed the Dragons 80-49 in conference play.
“I thought our girls did a great job setting the tone,” said head coach Dylan Gehrke. “Our shots were falling early, which always helps, and our defense was solid.”
H-BC was able to get out to a 29-9 lead with about five minutes left in the first half.
Adrian also went on a little run to cut the lead to 31-16, but by the end of the first half the Patriots led 45-20.
“We always preach, ‘Sprint, Spread, and Share’ when pushing the ball in transition,” Gehrke said.
“We were able to do that, which helped us extend the lead in the 2nd half.”
H-BC added another 35 points against the Dragons in the second half to win the game 80-49.
“I love it as a coach to see all the girls contributing in all different areas of the game,” Gehrke said.
The Patriots had four players in double figures on the night.
Freshman Abbie Harris, junior Layla Deelstra and junior Lanae Elbers scored 14 points each.
Eighth-grader Olivia Deelstra scored a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Junior Brynn Rauk and Freshman Ella Sammons contributed nine points each.
“Overall, I thought it was a great team win. Hopefully we can continue to build off of this for the rest of the season,” Gehrke said.
“It was a lot of fun to see our girls sharing the ball throughout the game. We had our season high, 22 assists.”
MLA-C 47, H-BC 36
The Lady Pates hosted Mountain Lake Area/Comfrey Friday, Jan. 20, taking a 47-36 loss.
“Had a tough one on Friday night against the Wolverines. We had great looks all night on offense, but we just couldn't get shots to fall,” Gehrke said.
“It is difficult to come out on top when you shoot 10-64 from the field.”
The Patriots led 22-19 coming into the half.
In the second half the Wolverines came out in a 2-3 zone, pressuring the Patriots to rush to set up shots and lose sight of their game plan.
Elbers led the Patriots with 11 points, eight rebounds and one assist.
Olivia Deelstra added 10 points, seven rebounds, one steal and one blocked shot.
Rauk posted six points, one rebound, two steals and two assists.
Layla Deelstra netted five points, two rebounds and four steals.
Other H-BC players to score were Harris with two points and senior Olivia Bork and junior Larissa Steinhoff had one point each.
H-BC 50, De Smet 49
The H-BC girls’ basketball team traveled to De Smet Saturday, Jan. 21, pulling off a one-point win over the Bulldogs.
“One thing that I love most about this team is our fight and toughness,” Gehrke said. “They played one heck of a game against a solid De Smet Lady Bulldogs squad.”
The Bulldogs were runners-up in Class B last year and ranked ninth in the state of South Dakota going into Saturday’s game with H-BC
“Our girls did a great job battling throughout the first half. We had so many shots that were on target and just rolled out,” Gehrke said.
“With the deficit only being five at half, we knew that we needed a big third quarter. Our girls responded well, winning it 17-7 which put us up by five going into the fourth quarter.”
Olivia Deelstra posted an impressive double-double with 16 points and 13 boards.
Larissa Steinhoff came off the bench to add eight points, six rebounds, and three steals. “She was all over the place on Saturday as well, and played some tough minutes,” Gehrke said about Steinhoff.
Elbers netted 11 points, three boards and one steal.
Layla Deelstra muscled nine points, seven assists, one steal and one blocked shot.
The game came down to the final seconds when the Bulldogs drove the court and had a shot to win.
However, Elbers and Olivia Deelstra did a great job contesting the shot, and bounced out, Gehrke said
“We had girls diving all over the place for the loose ball, and thankfully Steinhoff came up with her sixth and biggest rebound of the game as time expired,” Gehrke said.
“It was a great win for our girls, and we are hoping this continues throughout this coming week as we take on three Red Rock Conference opponents.”