Hauser’s coach Kyle Shipp encourages his players during a break in the action against Seeger Wednesday at Hauser High School.
Tommy Walker | For The Republic
HOPE — It was a tale of two halves for the Hauser girls basketball team Wednesday night.
After the Jets owned the lead at halftime, Seeger came back with a huge run in the third quarter and another run in the fourth quarter to hand Hauser a 39-21 loss in the semifinal round of the Hauser Holiday Classic.
The Jets had trouble stopping the Patriots top player, Rylea Wetz. She proved to be too much inside for Hauser, especially in the second half. Wetz finished with a game-high 22 points.
“We knew that 44 (Wetz) is a really nice player, and we did a good job on her in the first half. We knew she was going to have a much better second half,” Hauser coach Kyle Shipp said. “Both teams were a little lackadaisical, second game of the day, first time doing that, and in the second half, we couldn’t regain the intensity to get those stops. We didn’t do a good job on (Wetz). I’m proud of our first half, not very pleased with our second half.”
The Jets (4-13) had a 14-12 lead at the half. In the third quarter, Seeger (11-4) burst out on a 17-2 run during a six minute span to increase the lead to 29-16. The Patriots led 29-19 at the start of the fourth quarter, but then Seeger went on a 10-0 run to put the game away.
“We struggled to score in the second half tremendously, so we could never get our defense set,” Shipp said. “We never could get that shot in the arm we needed by a big shot. A ball rimming out or a ball hitting the rim, and we didn’t shoot the ball well from the free throw line, so we just couldn’t get that mojo going on the offensive end that we needed.”
Bella Kilps led Hauser with eight points.
In the morning opener, the Jets snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 45-29 win against Greenwood Christian Academy. Norah Berkenstock led Hauser with 13 points, while Braelyn Williams scored nine, Kilps had eight and Abby Manley added seven.
“We came out of that first game out of the locker room (at halftime), and we dominated,” Shipp said. “We extended the game, we extended the score and basically put the game away in the third quarter, and the second game was the total opposite. As coaches, we felt pretty good going in the locker room because we felt like we left a couple of points on the board in the first half and had a two-point lead. Coming back in the second half, it’s a magical sauce that we just didn’t have (in the second game).”
Hauser (4-13) will play Triton Central in the third-place game at 4 p.m. Thursday. Seeger will meet Providence for the championship at 6 p.m.
Hauser 45, Greenwood Christian 29
Greenwood Christian;12;5;3;9;—;29
Hauser;17;7;14;7;—;45
Greenwood Christian (4-9): Reed 2 2-6 7, Willis 0 2-4 2, Waldron 5 6-11 16, Howell 1 0-0 2, Herndon 0 0-0 0, Jackson 1 0-0 2. Totals: 9 10-21 29.
Hauser (4-12): Kaydenze Brock 0 0-0 0, Norah Berkenstock 4 4-5 13, Bella Kilps 4 0-0 8, Braelyn Williams 3 1-2 9, Kennedy Konradi 0 0-0 0, Chloie Phelps 1 0-0 2, Abby Manley 1 4-6 7, Haven Hartwell 3 0-0 6. Totals: 16 9-13 45.
3-point goals: Greenwood Christian 1 (Reed); Hauser 3 (Berkenstock, Williams, Manley).
Seeger 39, Hauser 21
Seeger;9;3;17;10;—;39
Hauser;11;3;5;2;—;21
Seeger (11-4): Wetz 10 2-4 22, Shrader 2 2-2 8, Purcell 1 3-4 5, Peterson 1 1-2 3, Frodge 0 1-2 1. Totals: 14 9-14 39.
Hauser (4-13): Brock 0 0-0 0, Berkenstock 1 1-4 3, Kilps 4 0-0 8, Williams 1 1-4 4, Konradi 0 1-2 1, Phelps 1 0-0 2, Manley 1 0-0 2, Hartwell 0 1-2 1. Totals: 8 4-12 21.
3-point goals: Seeger 2 (Shrader 2); Hauser 1 (Williams).
