Lady Hornets top Starks to reach quarterfinals
Published 9:41 pm Monday, February 21, 2022
- Hornbeck senior Hannah Dahlhoff (5) drives the lane for two of her game-high 24 points as she guided the Lady Hornets to a 44-29 win over the Starks Lady Panthers on Monday in the regional round of the Class C playoffs. The Lady Hornets will play at Plainview later this week. (Photo courtesy of Kathy Green)
By Daniel Green | BWS Sports
HORNBECK — Pressure defense typically leads to turnovers, along with points in transition.
And that’s exactly what happened Monday night for the Hornbeck Lady Hornets.
The Lady Hornets were able to score a number of points in transition off of their fullcourt man-to-man press as they were able to upend the No. 12 Starks Lady Panthers in the regional round of the Class C playoffs, 44-29.
With the victory, No. 5 Hornbeck advanced to the Class C quarterfinals and a Thursday night matchup against fourth-seeded Plainview, which defeated Georgetown easily on Monday, 58-19.
After senior Hannah Dahlhoff connected on a three-pointer on the opening possession of the game, the Lady Hornets built a 13-4 lead early in the first half. Dahlhoff continued scoring at a solid pace as Hornbeck was able to move out to a 22-12 advantage at the break.
“I think our press took a little bit of pressure off of our offense,” Hornbeck head coach Matthew Killian said. “We were able to create turnovers and take advantage of some of those opportunities in transition.”
Despite trailing by double digits, the Lady Panthers continued battling behind the efforts of Kennedie Harrison in the post, keeping within 10 points heading into the fourth period, 33-23.
The Lady Panthers managed to cut the gap to six points on a couple of occasions, but Dahlhoff, Hannah Mitchell and Jayda James were able to help Hornbeck to pull away en route to the win.
Killian was very pleased with his team’s effort, but especially with the energy displayed by Dahlhoff.
“Hannah was very aggressive and brought the energy,” Killian said. “She was all over the place.”
Dahlhoff led the Lady Hornets with 24 points, while James and Mitchell added eight points each.
Harrison paced the Lady Panthers with 15 points.
