Golden Hawks bounce back again against Northeast

It was a rough Monday night for Myah Lugar and the Mid-Prairie offense. But by Tuesday, those struggles were forgotten. 

The Golden Hawks opened up an early double-digit lead and held off a late Rebel run for a 50-34 victory, taking a winning record into the winter break. 

After scoring just two points at West Liberty on Monday, Lugar had 11 during Mid-Prairie’s 16-4 run to open the game. 

“I think just being strong with the ball was a big factor,” Lugar said, “and also just working the ball inside and outside because that opened it up for both parts of the offense.”

Lugar made three shots from behind the arc in the first half after the Golden Hawks shot 0-12 from the 3-point line on the previous day. 

“That’s something we’ve been working hard on and we’ve kind of struggled with the past couple games,” Lugar said about the outside shooting. “I think most of it’s mental definitely and so it just really felt good to finally get some to connect.”

Lugar outscored Northeast 14-9 by herself in the first half and finished with 18 points. Mid-Prairie has followed up each of its four losses with a win on the way to a 5-4 record. 

“Some of the games we’ve lost, we felt like we didn’t do the things that we’re capable of doing,” Mid-Prairie coach Danny Hershberger said. “And we come out and correct those things and kind of take it out on the next team we play and get better from it. 

“I’m really happy with the way we haven’t let one loss turn into two, we’ve been able to turn around quickly.”

Northeast came back to close the gap to five points in the fourth quarter after Mid-Prairie led by as many as 17 in the second half. 

Alyssa McDowell came up with a key basket to end the 18-6 run for the Rebels. Maddie Nonnenmann was 4-6 from the free throw line and scored all eight of her points during a 14-1 Golden Hawk run that restored an 18-point advantage. 

“I think the biggest thing was just to take care of the basketball,” Hershberger said. 

“We did much better at being strong with it and then being patient on offense and getting some really good looks, getting the ball inside, getting some fouls, and then hitting a couple free throws game getting some and-one opportunities. They were was really big for us.”

Nonnenmann  led Mid-Prairie with eight rebounds and four assists. Amara Jones also had four assists and four steals. 

Mid-Prairie forced 24 turnovers and held the Rebels to under 20 percent shooting. Northeast was 12-17 at the free throw line, accounting for over one third of its offense. 

The Rebels had their previous five games postponed and were playing for the first time since December 5. 

“You know, it’s a crazy year, they haven’t played for a couple weeks. And we’ve been lucky and fortunate that we’ve got to play every game on our schedule so far,” Hershberger said.

“Any night we get a chance to play, we’re excited to do it, because you never know when you might not get an opportunity. 

“I’m really proud of the way that we’ve been able to stay on the court, and the girls have done a great job of being prepared and ready to play whenever we get the chance.”