Hancock dominates Bessemer

BESSEMER — It's tough to win many games scoring 18 points in a varsity basketball game.

That happened to the Bessemer Speedgirls on Thursday night and Bessemer went down to defeat at the hands of Hancock 60-18 in a non-conference game in the House of Noise.

"Hancock plays tough man-to-man defense and they do it with six girls," Bessemer coach Gerry Pelissero said. "Our girls weren't comfortable playing against that defense. We only had five field goals (the whole game).

"We survived the first quarter then we struggled the rest of the way."

Hancock head coach Jack Johnson is a former area player and junior varsity coach, Dan Pertile, played for Ironwood and both said they like to make the trip back home, but they've also got a game to win.

"It's always nice to come back to see friends and family," Johnson said. "But we also like to see the girls perform well. We're a team with a lot of young kids and only have one senior and one junior, so night in and night out, we have to preach defense as a key fundamental to compete in the tough West-PAC. When you play a lot of young kids, it can be a roller coaster ride, especially with shooting. We're 7-6 now and I'd like us to be a little further along, but I've been very pleased with the freshman."

Both teams started the game as cold as a U.P. winter night, but Hancock managed baskets from Delaney Heinonen and D'andra Kero.

The Speedgirls didn't score until the 2:14 mark of the first quarter when Bessemer got a basket off the glass from an unlikely source-Rachel Emery. Because of illness, she had not played in a game since Dec. 19 and Pelissero was just happy to have her back.

"We're working her back in slowly, but it's good to have her back," Pelissero said. "She's only had one practice and is playing about four minutes a quarter. She's about 50 percent of the way she was playing, but she showed us some things we've missed from her."

With 17.3 seconds left in the quarter, Kero knocked down a 3 from the top-of-the-key, but Bessemer got the three points back when Allyson Metas was fouled beyond the arc. She sank all three free throws and the quarter ended with Hancock up 10-5.

"Bessemer came out and played hard," Johnson said. "They were giving us a battle. They came out in a 1-3-1 defense that gave us trouble in the first quarter."

Hancock opened the second quarter with freshman Jordan Pertile splashing a 3, but Bessemer's Kari Trcka answered by drilling a shot of her own.

The Bulldogs clamped down hard with the defense and had good ball movement on offense with quick, sharp passes.

Trcka scored again and Emery sank two fee throws, but Hancock widened its lead to 24-11 by halftime.

Starting the second half, Hancock's Maija Sebbas drove the baseline and pulled up for a 12-footer and Speedgirl Megan Peterson responded with a long two from the right side to cut the lead to 26-13 with 6:58 remaining.

But the Bulldogs were about to start rolling. They out-scored Bessemer 16-4 the rest of the quarter and the surge gave them a 42-17 advantage after three quarters.

Making up a 25 point deficit in one quarter would have been very difficult for any team and Hancock put the game on ice when its defense didn't allow a Bessemer score until the 3:53 mark when Caitlyn Lynch made a free throw. By then, the Bulldog lead had ballooned to 54-18.

Pertile topped Hancock's offensive attack with 16 points, while Maija Sebbas tallied 14 and Kero added 11.

Peterson led Bessemer's scoring with five points and Emery and Trcka notched four points.

Hancock won the junior varsity game 28-19.

The Speedgirls (3-14, 3-9) host Ironwood in the House of Noise on Monday.

Hancock — D'andra Kero 11, Maijas Sebbas 14, Jordan Pertile 16, Taylor Sebbas 8, Nialy Brooks 4, Delaney Heinonen 7. FT's: 14-22, Fouls: 9, Fouled out: none, 3-pointers: Jordan Pertile 3, D'andera Kero 2, M. Sebbas 1, .

Bessemer — Megan Peterson 5, Allyson Metas 3, Caitlyn Lynch 1, Maddie Jacobson 1, Karli Trcka 4. FT's: 7-14, Fouls: 14, Fouled out: none, 3-pointers: Megan Peterson.

Hancock 10 24 42 60

Bessemer 5 11 17 18