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Hancock falls short against Nelson, WIC 43-35

HANCOCK — Much of the attention in Tuesday night’s season-opening girls basketball game between West Iron County and Hancock centered on Wykons’ senior center Emily Nelson.

Nelson, a 6-foot-1 senior bound for Michigan Tech next fall, didn’t have her greatest showing in a 43-35 WIC win.

But it was enough to get West Iron past a seasoned Hancock squad in an early test of West PAC powers.

“I thought we did a pretty good defensive job on her (Nelson),” HCHS coach Dan Pertile said. “She’s such a force for them … you have to watch her all the time.”

Nelson ended up with game high totals of 13 points and 13 rebounds, and also blocked four shots.

WIC head coach Eric Shamion said his ace drew a lot of attention from the Bulldogs.

“They were physical with her and she missed some shots she would normally make,” Shamion said. “But some of our other girls stepped up and made plays when we needed them to.”

The winners surged to a 13-7 lead after one quarter as guard Anna Malmquist knocked down a pair of triples and a regular basket.

“Anna (Malmquist) can do that for us,” Shamion said. “She’s a good three-point shooter.”

After falling back by an 18-11 margin early in the second quarter, the Crimson and Gold staged a brief comeback and were within 18-15.

But the taller Wykons used a closing rush to up the count to 26-15 by intermission.

“We knew we would have to start pressuring them in the second half to make a move,” Pertile said. “We did force a few but not enough.”

Hancock’s full-court pressure did result in a few third quarter mistakes by the visitors.

Two buckets apiece by Taylor Sebbas and D’Andra Kero did slice the margin to 40-34 — only to have Jordan Shamion of the Wykons hit one at the buzzer to make it 42-34 after three quarters.

Nelson cashed in five free throws and added a basket to keep Hancock at bay in the final stanza.

Sebbas led the Bulldogs with nine points and snagged nine rebounds, while Kero added seven points and some good defensive work.

Malmquist backed up Nelson’s game with 12 points of her own. She also made five steals.

“I thought we played a pretty decent game,” Pertile said. “Not as well as we’re capable of playing, but that’s a pretty good team over there.”

Hancock hosts Jeffers on Thursday.

West Iron 13 13 9 8 — 43

Hancock 7 9 7 11 — 35

WEST IRON (43): Malmquist 12, Bociek 5, Nelson 13; Dahl 7, Short 2, Shamion 4. FT: 9-15. Rebounds: 36 (Nelson 13). Fouls: 11. 3-point FG: Malmquist 2, Bociek 1, Dahl 1.

HANCOCK (35) Kero 7, Chynoweth 2, Sebbas 9, Pertile 6, Salani 2, Brey 5, Driscoll 2. FT: 2-5. Rebounds: 26 (Sebbas 9). Fouls: 11. 3-point FG: Brey 1.

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