By Chad Koenen

Publisher

The girls basketball team went through an early season gauntlet of three tough road games against some of the top teams in not only the conference, but the section last week.

After securing a 61-58 come-from-behind win over Bertha-Hewitt on Tuesday night, the Hornets fell to Underwood 67-43 on Thursday and Menahga 86-36 on Friday night to fall to 2-3 overall and 1-1 in the Park Region Conference.

This week the Hornets will face Pillager at home on Friday, before heading to Sebeka to take on the Trojans as part of the Park Region Conference showcase.

Tuesday

After trailing by as many as 18 points in the first half (29-11) the Henning Hornets used a fierce second half comeback to overtake the Bertha-Hewitt Bears 61-58 in their Park Region Conference opener on Tuesday night. 

“Bertha really came out strong and controlled the first half. It took us a little while to settle in, but the girls battled late in the half to keep it within reach,” said head coach Ryan Emter.  

The Hornets trailed 40-25 at the halftime break, but were able to quickly cut the Bertha-Hewitt lead to single digits early in the second half. They eventually took the lead for good with under three minutes remaining in the game and hit a number of key shots down the stretch to come away with a 61-58 win over the Bears. 

“Out of halftime we knocked down a few shots that got us going, and our defensive pressure really increased. From that point on we just had a ton of energy,” said Emter. “The girls stepped up and hit some big shots down the stretch and showed a lot of toughness to hang on for the win. I was really proud of the grit we showed to make a comeback like that.”

The Hornets were led offensively by Addison Bode and Stella Iliff who each scored 16 points in the win. Lily Grieger chipped in with nine points and a team-high eight rebounds, while Alivia Emter scored nine points, Callie Thompson scored six points and Abbi Godding chipped in with five points in the win.

POINTS: Callie Thompson 6, Lily Grieger 9, Addison Bode 16, Alivia Emter 9, Stella Iliff 16, Abbigale Godding 5

ASSISTS: Callie Thompson 3, Lily Grieger 1, Alivia Emter 1, Stella Iliff 4, Abbigale Godding 4

REBOUNDS: Callie Thompson 6, Lily Grieger 8, Addison Bode 6, Bella Olson 3, Alivia Emter 5, Stella Iliff 6, Abbigale Godding 2

STEALS: Callie Thompson 4, Lily Grieger 1, Addison Bode 5, Alivia Emter 5, Stella Iliff 1, Abbigale Godding 2, Isabelle Godding 1

BLOCKS: Stella Iliff 2

Thursday

The Henning Hornets came out on the short end of a 63-47 game to the Underwood Rockets on Thursday night. 

Despite the loss, head coach Ryan Emter said he was happy with how the Hornets played against one of the better teams in Section 6A. 

“Underwood is a very balanced, disciplined, and well coached team. We still have a lot of growing to do, but I was happy with how our girls came out and competed in the first half,” he said.

The Hornets were led offensively by Stella Iliff who finished with 14 points and shot 60 percent from the field in the loss. Alivia Emter scored seven points, Callie Thompson scored six, Addison Bode scored six points and pulled down a seven rebounds, while Lily Grieger scored six points and pulled down a team-high nine rebounds, Bella Olson and Abbi Godding each scored two points in the game.

POINTS: Bella Olson 2, Lily Grieger 6, Stella Iliff 14, Addison Bode 6, Callie THompson 6, Alivia Emter 7, Abbigale Godding 2

ASSISTS: Bella Olson 1, Addison Bode 4, Callie Thompson 2

REBOUNDS: Bella Olson 3, Lily Grieger 9, Stella Iliff 2, Addison Bode 7, Callie Thompson 2, Abbigale Godding 2, Isabelle Godding 1

STEALS: Bella Olson 1, Lily Grieger 1, Brooklynn Geyer 1, Stella Iliff 2, Addison Bode 5, Callie Thompson 2, Alivia Emter 1, Abbigale Godding 1

BLOCKS: Alivia Emter 1

Friday

A gauntlet of three tough games in a span of four days came to an end on Friday night as the Hornets traveled to Menahga to take on one of the top teams in not only the conference, but in Class AA. The Braves led from the onset and came away with an 86-36 win to drop the Hornets to 2-3 overall and 1-1 in the Park Region Conference.

“The girls came out and gave it their best, but Menahga is just one of the top 8AA teams. We will just keep working hard and try to find ways to narrow the gap with some of these teams on our schedule,” said head coach Ryan Emter. 

As a team the Hornets turned the ball over 20 times in the loss and shot 28 percent from the field. 

Henning was led offensively by Stella Iliff who went 6-13 from the field to finish with 13 points, while Alivia Emter scored seven points, Abbi Godding scored five points, Addison Bode scored four points, Callie Thompson and Bella Olson each chipped in with three points and Isabelle Godding rounded out the scoring with one point. 

POINTS: Callie Thompson 3, Alivia Emter 7, Addison Bode 4, Bella Olson 3, Stella Iliff 13, Abbigale Godding 5, Isabelle Godding 1

ASSISTS: Callie Thompson 1, Alivia Emter 1, Stella Iliff 2

REBOUNDS: Callie Thompson 2, Alivia Emter 6, Addison Bode 2, Bella Olson 4, Stella Iliff 2, Lily Grieger 2, Abbigale Godding 2, Isabella Godding 3

STEALS: Callie Thompson 2, Addison Bode 2, Bella Olson 1, Stella Iliff 1

BLOCKS: Addison Bode 1, Stella Iliff 2