After building a 32-16 halftime lead at Northeast, Mid-Prairie struggled to find the basket in the third quarter on Tuesday.

Cana Rediger had the only Golden Hawk field goal for the first seven minutes and 50 seconds of the second half as Mid-Prairie’s 16-point lead disappeared.

Northeast senior Brynnlin Kroymann put a shot off the glass to cap a 17-0 run that gave the Rebels their first lead of the game at 37-36. 

It would also be their last. 

Maddie Nonnenman beat the third-quarter buzzer with a 3-pointer and Mid-Prairie never trailed again in the 56-51 win over Northeast. 

The Golden Hawks led just 50-49 when coach Danny Hershberger called timeout with two minutes and 30 seconds left in the game. 

“The biggest thing was just being a little more patient on offense,” Hershberger said. “We were kind of rushing ourselves a little bit. We thought we could get the ball inside and have an advantage there and we were able to do that a couple of times.”

Nonnenmann scored in the paint to put Mid-Prairie up by three, and Nora Pennington stretched the lead to five with 1:40 left. 

The Rebels had a chance to tie, down 54-51 with 30 seconds left, but Nonnemnann came up with a steal and Amara Jones hit a pair of free throws to seal the victory. 

“You never want a situation like that to happen where you let a team back in the game,” Hershberger said. “but I’m just really proud of the way we were able to stick with it and stay mentally in it and come out with the win.”

Rediger’s second 3-pointer gave Mid-Prairie a 42-39 lead early in the fourth quarter, sparking a 7-0 run. 

“They kind of left me open in the corner,” Rediger said. “And I just took my time to knock them down.”

Nonnenmann scored eight of her game-high 23 points in the fourth quarter as the Golden Hawks responded to the Rebels’ run. 

“The key was to get ourselves together,” she said. We got ahead and we got a little too confident and we let them come back. So it was just our turn to go on a run and get it back.”

Jones was 6-of-7 at the free throw line and finished with 13 points, while Pennington finished with seven points. Landry Pacha scored four points and Maya Nonnenmann added three. 

It took Northeast over three minutes to score on Tuesday and the Golden Hawks led 10-3 with a minute left in the first quarter. Mid-Prairie outscored the Rebels 22-11 in the second quarter before Northeast dominated the third. 

Mid-Prairie won the fourth quarter 17-14 after Nonnenmann’s third quarter buzzer beater. 

Rediger felt that the Golden Hawks did a good job responding by “slowing down a little bit and not rushing things,” she said. “Our team was just lifting each other up and working together.”

Mid-Prairie finishes 2021 with a record of 4-3. The Golden Hawks will host Wilton after the winter break on January 4.