Grafton can’t quite solve Slinger

One day after coming through in the clutch against Plymouth, it was the Grafton High School girls’ basketball team’s opponent that made the plays down the stretch last Saturday in Slinger.

The No. 3-seeded Black Hawks led at No. 2-seeded Slinger for much of the game before the Owls pulled out a 46-39 Division 2 playoff victory to end Grafton’s season.

Senior point guard Mya Masse scored 12 points in what coach Matt D’Amato called “her best game of the year by far for sure.”

Masse went 4-for-7 shooting and 3-for-4 on free throws, had three assists, three rebounds and a steal.

“She was passing the ball well, seeing the floor well. She was attacking the hoop, hit a three-pointer. She limited the turnovers,” D’Amato said, adding she played the entire game and the Hawks needed her for the full 36 minutes.

Senior sharpshooter Julia Place drained three three-pointers and scored 11 points. She added four steals.

Senior forward Lexi Hilgart played through an injured shooting wrist bad from the day before to score eight points.

Halena Gehrke came off the bench for a spark with good defense and smart cuts to the basket for six first-half points.

Allison Garncarz got in foul trouble early but grabbed six rebounds.

Ellie Grisar only played four minutes since she was ill.

The Hawks were up, 23-19, at halftime and by seven points with 11 minutes left.

“I wouldn’t say we had control of the game, but we were ahead pretty much until there were five minutes left when Slinger tied it up at 39,” D’Amato said.

“You could tell the playoff experience that they had. Anna Breuer for Slinger is the real deal. She calmed things down for them and when we had the ball it looked like we sped up,” he said, adding that calling a timeout didn’t help. The Hawks went scoreless the last five minutes of the game.

“Slinger went up an extra notch,” D’Amato said.

It was the third time the Owls beat the Hawks this season and the second time the Hawks had a good chance to win, but D’Amato said he was proud of his team’s effort.

“It’s not fun to lose, but it’s easier knowing you left it all on the court,” he said.

Breuer scored 13 points to lead Slinger. Samantha Gueller and Mallory Hoitink each scored nine.

Hawks polish off Plymouth, 57-39

Grafton jumped out to an early lead against No. 6-seeded Plymouth at home last Friday before the Panthers pulled to within four points. Then, the Hawks pulled away in a 57-39 victory.

Masse scored 14 points and went 8-for-8 on free throws. She grabbed six rebounds and had three assists.

Hilgart had 10 points and four assists but sprained her shooting wrist. Place had an off game with two points.

With those two not playing up to potential, D’Amato said, someone needed to step up. Masse and others took care of business.

Garncarz had 11 points and six rebounds. Grisar was sick but hit two three-pointers. Ella Day also scored six points. D’Amato said Morgan Ruona played well, and Day and Garncarz played solid defense.

The Hawks held a 29-13 halftime lead.

“The really big thing was our post defense. Plymouth has two strong posts. We were moving our feet and making them shoot over us,” D’Amato said.

The Panthers got as close as 35-31 before the Hawks put the game away with a 22-8 run.

“We locked down on defense,” D’Amato said.

Dallas Kreisa scored 11 points and Kalani Smith had 10 for Plymouth.

D’Amato got to use all 13 of his players, “so everybody got their playoff experience,” he said.

The Hawks finished 11-13 overall and 8-10 and in seventh place in the North Shore Conference, one game from tying for fifth. The Hawks will lose five seniors: Place, Hilgart, Masse, Grisar and Gehrke.

It was D’Amato’s first year as head coach.

“It was a big learning curve on getting used to everything. I’m grateful for the girls I had. I’m going to miss those seniors. They laid a good foundation,” D’Amato said.