Boys basketball losing skid reaches five straight
Last week, the Hartford Husky boys basketball team returned to the court for another multi-game stretch of regular season action, as the men played in a pair of conference contests over the course of the seven-day period. The team came into play with an 8-8 record on the year, while having hit a roadblock of late, losing three consecutive games by an average of fourteen points. The postseason begins awfully soon, so a turnaround has to occur during the final stretch run.
In their first game of the week, a home conference contest against the Chiefs of White Pigeon, on Tuesday, Feb. 21, the Huskies went up against a team that had a fairly similar record. White Pigeon was 8-9 on the year, just one game in the loss column worse than the Huskies. In this one, the recent woes for Hartford continued, as they were defeated, 57-32. The game was close throughout the first half, as the box score indicates, but the second half was a completely different story.
The visiting Chiefs led after the opening eight minutes, 11-9, before extending their lead to four points at the break, 26-22, thanks to a 15-13 scoring advantage in the second quarter. The second half was a nightmare for the host Huskies, as they struggled on both ends of the floor, leading to White Pigeon outscoring Hartford over the final two quarters, 31-10, to turn a close game into a one-sided affair when the final horn sounded.
Eight players scored for the Huskies. Caiden Smith led all Hartford scorers with seven points, while Zach Truelove chipped in six points in the loss. Other players finishing in the scoring column included Dylan Kuehnle (5 points), Brody Johnson (4 points), Austin Reyna (4 points), Alexis Rivas (2 points), Julien Rodarte (2 points) and Bryan Torres (2 points).
In their second game of the week, a road conference contest at Cassopolis against the Rangers, on Friday, Feb. 24, the Huskies went up against a solid Cassopolis team that came into the game with just four losses, but none of which had come in conference play. Hartford played one of their best overall games in several weeks, but came up short of pulling the upset, falling 61-53. The Huskies led after a competitive opening eight minutes, 23-18, before the Rangers responded with an 11-5 scoring advantage in the second quarter, giving them a one-point halftime lead, 29-28. The difference in this game was the third quarter, where Cassopolis built their advantage to eight points, 50-42, with eight minutes left, thanks to a 21-14 scoring splurge in the stanza. The teams played to an 11-all draw in the fourth quarter, but it was a close, solid game throughout.
Six players scored for the Huskies, including two that finished the night in double figures. Austin Reyna led all Hartford scorers with 20 points, while Brody Johnson chipped in 12 points in the loss. Other players finishing in the scoring column included Zach Truelove (8 points), Caiden Smith (6 points), Julien Rodarte (5 points) and Dylan Kuehnle (2 points).
Hartford is currently 8-10 on the season and is 7-6 in Southwest 10 Conference games. The men will take the court for three games in the coming week; the first two of which will count towards the final conference standings, before finishing with a conference crossover matchup. The team will have started the week with games on back-to-back nights, beginning Monday, Feb. 27, when they hosted the Bloomingdale Cardinals, before they traveled east, to face the Lawrence Tigers, on Tuesday, Feb. 28. They will finish the week by competing in a Southwest 10 Conference crossover game, on Thursday, March 2, with the location and opponent to be determined.
Girls basketball finishes regular season with 1-1 weekly record
Last week, the Hartford Lady Husky basketball team returned to the court for another packed stretch of action, as the team played their final two games of the regular season, in the final tune-up for the upcoming postseason. The team entered play with a 7-13 record on the year but has managed to take some noticeable steps forward throughout the season. The ladies were hoping to conclude this roller-coaster campaign with some solid play.
In their first game of the week, a road conference contest at White Pigeon against the Lady Chiefs, on Tuesday, Feb. 21, the Lady Huskies went up against a team that they had not faced so far this year, but whom they defeated in three straight games going back over the past couple of seasons. This game featured back-and-forth action, but the Lady Huskies ultimately fell, 52-37.
The game started off with a slight Hartford advantage in the opening eight minutes, as the Lady Huskies led 7-4 after one quarter. The Lady Chiefs responded with a 17-8 scoring advantage in the second quarter, giving them the edge, 21-15, at the half. White Pigeon steadily pulled away in the second half, utilizing scoring spurts of 17-11 in the third quarter and 14-11 in the fourth quarter, to build up the final margin of victory.
Seven players scored for the Lady Huskies, including one that finished the night in double figures. Raven Ledesma led all Hartford scorers with 14 points, while Brooke Birmele chipped in eight points in the loss. Other players finishing in the scoring column included Rylee Ackerman (5 points), Ava Bachman (3 points), Rylee Deckard (3 points), Fantasia Eastman (2 points) and Abby Valdes (2 points).
In their second game of the week, a home conference crossover contest against the Lady Bulldogs of Centreville on Thursday, Feb. 23, the Lady Huskies came up against an opponent they had seen just seventeen days prior, which was a 47-27 defeat for Hartford. However, this one was completely different. The Lady Huskies finished the regular season on a high, with a 62-44 win. Hartford was in control of this one from the first whistle to the final horn, as the box score showed them owning scoring advantages in three of the four quarters.
The Lady Huskies opened the game with a 16-6 lead after the opening eight minutes, before adding three points to their advantage in the second quarter, taking a 30-17 lead into the half. Hartford continued building on their great play in the third quarter, using a 22-11 scoring bonanza, to take a 52-28 lead with eight minutes left. For their part, however, Centreville finished the game strong, outscoring the Lady Huskies in the final quarter, 16-10.
Five players scored for the Lady Huskies, including three that finished in night in double figures. Raven Ledesma led all Hartford scorers with 24 points, while Ava Bachman chipped in 23 points and Rylee Deckard added 10 points in the win. Other players finishing in the scoring column included Brooke Birmele (3 points) and Fantasia Eastman (2 points).
Hartford is currently 8-14 on the season and finished 6-9 in Southwest 10 Conference games. The Lady Huskies will enter postseason play in the week ahead, competing in a district at Bloomingdale that also includes Bangor, Gobles and Watervliet. Hartford drew a bye in the first round, earning them a district semifinal matchup against Gobles on Wednesday, March 1. If they win that contest, the team would advance to the district final, which takes place on Friday, March 3.
As always, GO GREEN! GO WHITE!
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