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Stinging victory: L’Anse holds Hancock off in fourth quarter to earn win

HANCOCK — With third-quarter momentum on their side and down by just point, it looked like the Hancock Bulldogs girls basketball team was going to pull off a fourth-quarter win against the L’Anse Purple Hornets. However, the Bulldogs could not score any points in the fourth and lost 41-32 at home.

“You can’t win games if you do not score points,” said Bulldogs coach Dan Pertile. “We certainly had our chances to win this one, but the shots just didn’t fall.”

The Bulldogs had the lead only twice in the game, at 2-0 and 32-31. The rest of the night, the game went L’Anse’s way.

The Purple Hornets made a run of seven in the first quarter to make the score 7-2 and took advantage of some sloppy ball handling and passing by Hancock.

“I thought the girls played an excellent first half,” said Purple Hornets coach Scott Lloyd. “I could not be more pleased. We communicated on defense. We slid into the passing lanes and we jammed all their cutters. Also, we made their chances to score minimal, and we rebounded well.”

At half time, the Purple Hornets led 21-14.

“I told the girls at halftime that this was our game to win,” Lloyd said. “I told them to keep doing what they were doing. We started to turn the ball over in the third quarter and they (Hancock) started to chip away at the lead.

“Our ‘Waterloo’ is the fact that we throw the ball away too much. We make passes that aren’t there.”

The Bulldogs did take advantage of the Purple Hornets’ miscues at the beginning of the third as they made several consecutive layups to pull back within two points, 25-23. The teams traded baskets from there for a short time.

With less than a minute left in the third, a three-pointer launched by junior D’Andra Kero made the score 31-30 in favor of L’Anse. Bulldogs forward Taylor Sebbas tied it at 31 and then put the Bulldogs ahead thanks to two free throws.

With the mini-surge, the Bulldogs held a slim lead, but it did not last. Purple Hornets’ sophomore Maija Rice put in a lay up with just seconds left on the clock to give L’Anse back the lead before the final quarter.

“It was a wonderful third quarter for us,” said Pertile, “and we certainly had our chances to win. Our shots just weren’t there. I credit them as they scored 40 points and held us off. It was a disappointing loss.”

The Purple Hornets outscored the Bulldogs 8-0 in the fourth to seal the victory.

For the Bulldogs, D’Andra Kero led the scoring with 13. Taylor Sebbas followed with eight points. The Purple Hornets were led by Maija Rice who had 13 points, followed by her sister, Josie, with 12.

L’Anse 14 7 12 8 – 41

Hancock 7 7 18 0 – 32

LHS: Keinz 4, M. Rice 13, Voskuhl 8, Nankervis 2, J. Rice 12; Fouls: 9; Fouled out: none; 3-point field goals: J. Rice 1

HCH: Dennis 6, Sturos 2, Sebbas 8, Berg 3, Kero 13; Fouls: 13; Fouled out: none; 3-point field goals: Dennis 2, Berg 1, Kero 1

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