Hawks Win On 3-Point Buzzer Beater

Dan Saletel-NSO

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Mar 2

Wes Vork-NSO

Tuesday night’s basketball game between Hermantown and Cloquet was a textbook display of the euphoria of winning and the devastating feeling of defeat. Down by two points, Rachael Hoium hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Hawks a 48-47 win in the opening round of the Section 7AAA girls basketball playoffs.

After starting out slow, Hermantown found themselves down 10-0 just 6:25 into the game. After a 6-0 Hawks run to cut the score to 10-6, both teams made exchanged leads. The Hawks worked their way back to close out the first half tied at 19 points apiece.

After trading a few baskets, little was settled with the game tied for the third time at 29-29. Cloquet then opened up the game with a 10-2 run, pushing the score to 39-31 Jacks. With 5:36 remaining in the game, Cloquet looked to be in control;
they were still up by eight at 43-35. Hermantown, however, continued to chip away and with 1:16 remaining, Nicole Niemi hit a long distance three pointer to put the Hawks within three at 45-42.

Hermantown head coach Beth Clark talked about how proud she was of her squad after the game, telling NSO, “Our kids never gave up. They were down early in the first and late in the second half and we just kept plugging away.

After a
missed free throw by the Jacks and with the Hawks trailing 47-45, Hoium got the defensive rebound with 14 seconds showing on the clock, setting the stage for her game ending heroics. With two seconds remaining, Hoium got a decent look at the basket from just right of the top of the key. She let of the game winning 3-point shot to send the home crowd into a frenzy.

“The message we send out to kids when shooting is that if you are open, take the shot. We had kids step up and make a few big shots down the stretch; it made for an exciting finish if you were a Hawk fan!” stated Clark.

Senior guard Nicole Niemi led the Hawks with 13 points, followed by Mary Neumann and Hoium with 9 points each. Others scoring for Hermantown were Carmen Bergstedt with 6, Jessica Love 5, Ally Dieryck 4, and Nicole Kucza with 2 points. For the game, the Hawks were 4-18 for 22.2% from three point land, but were 2-2 at the end of the game when it mattered most.

What shouldn’t be forgotten in the loss and disappointment was Annabel Morrisroe’s great game for Cloquet. Morrisroe led the Jacks with 29 points, well above her impressive 20.2 points per game. She also contributed 9 rebounds in the losing effort. Additional scorers for Cloquet were seniors Kialee Kutter and Katie Pappas with 6 points each, Carri Zeadow with 5 and Krista Schmitz with 1 point.

With the win, the #3 seed Hawks advance to the semifinal round and play #2 seed Hibbing in Hibbing at 7:00pm Friday night. Success brings tough choices for Hawk fans, who will be split with the Hermantown boys playing in the Section 7A finals at 7:00pm on Friday also.

The loss ends the 2009-2010 season for the Lumberjacks, who finish with a record of 10-15. NSO would like to wish good luck to seniors Brianna Henagin, Kialee Kutter, and Katie Pappas and congratulate them on their season.

Wes Vork can be reached at wes@northlandsportsonline.com

Wes Vork-NSO