The West Delaware boys basketball team improved their record to .500 last week with victories over Maquoketa and Western Dubuque, both in the friendly confines of the Hawk gymnasium.

Coming off a rough first week, the Hawks got just what they needed when Maquoketa traveled to town on the snowy roads last Tuesday. Coming down to the last seconds of the game, the Hawks got the one-point victory over the Cardinals, 43-42.

Seth Engelken opened the game with a three-pointer, which was followed by a Ben Lechtenberg swish. After the Hawks went up 5-0, the Cardinals went on a run and took a 5-11 lead. Lechtenberg added two more shots in the first quarter, but WD still trailed 9-11 at the end of the first.

Staying hot in the second quarter, Lechtenberg scored eight more points, and with the help of a Chris Crawford three-pointer, put the Hawks up 20-18 at the half.

The Hawks came back from the break on the defensive, and held Maquoketa scoreless for the first three minutes of the third quarter. WD held a 32-28 lead at the end of the third.

Keeping the game close, Maquoketa outscored the Hawks 11-14 in the fourth, falling one point short of a victory. After the Hawks pulled ahead 40-34, the Cardinals picked things up and came within three, 42-39, with less than a minute left in the game. Seth Engelken made a clutch free throw shot with 33 seconds left, and gave the Hawks the four point lead they needed. The Cardinals made a three-pointer with 17 seconds left, but couldn’t get the last shot they needed past the Hawks’ tough defense.

Lechtenberg led the Hawks in scoring and rebounds, recording 20 points and 20 rebounds.
Fourteen of his total points came in the first half. Chris Crawford added 13 points for the Hawks.

The Hawk defense played a smart game, only giving the Cardinals four chances to go to the line for free throw chances. The Cardinals only recorded two points via free throws while the Hawks nailed seven out of 13 attempts.

On Friday, Dec. 7, the Hawks hosted the Western Dubuque Bobcats and took their second victory of the week, defeating the Bobcats 41-33. Senior BJ Hermsen returned to the court for the Hawks after a football injury benched him thus far this season.

At the end of the first, the Hawks trailed 9-11 but quickly came back to hold a one point lead, 18-17, at the break.

The Hawks kept things going strong all through the second half and were overtaking the Bobcats with a 30-25 lead at the end of the third. The fourth quarter gave them a chance to increase their lead and clinch the victory. They outscored the Bobcats by three in the fourth and claimed the victory by an eight point margin, 41-33.

Junior Seth Engelken scored 16 points to lead the Hawks. Chris Crawford added nine. Ben Lechtenberg pulled down nine rebounds and BJ Hermsen grabbed six.

Hoping to keep things going strong, the boys will travel to take on Beckman on Tuesday and go on a long road trip on Friday to DeWitt. They will host Oelwein on Saturday.

WD vs. Maquoketa
FG: WD 17-47 36 %; Maquoketa 17-56 30%
FT: WD 7-13 54%; Maquoketa 2-4 50%
Assists: WD 12 (Crawford 5, Kafer 4, Mensen 1, Heinrichs 1, Gaffney 1)
Rebounds: WD 38 (Lechtenberg 20, Kafer 6, Klein 4, Crawford 3, Heinrichs 2, Walters 2, Gaffney 1)
Individual scoring: Lechtenberg 20, Crawford 13, Engelken 6, Heinrichs 2, Klein 2

WD vs. W. Dubuque
FG: W. Del. 15-51 29%; W. Dub. 12-47 26%
FT: W. Del. 8-11 73%; W. Dub. 6-11 55%
Assists: W. Del. 15 (Crawford 5, Kafer 4, Hermsen 3, Lechtenberg 3)
Rebounds: W. Del. 28 (Lechtenberg 9, Hermsen 6, Engelken 4, Crawford 3, Gaffney 3, Walters 2, Kafer 1)
Individual scoring: Engelken 16, Crawford 9, Lechtenberg 6, Hermsen 4, Gaffney 3, Walters 3

After the break, Maquoketa came out to pull ahead by a basket at the end of three and found themselves up on the Hawks 43-45.

Trailing the Cardinals going into the fourth didn’t sit well with the Hawks, and they used their motivation to pull ahead and outscore them 22-15 in the final quarter of the game. The Hawks pulled ahead when it counted and left with a 65-60 victory, improving their record to 3-0.

Emily Heffernen was high scorer for the Hawks, recording 28 points in the victory. She also pulled down 11 rebounds, while Sara Heffernen grabbed 10.

Following the snowy drive to Maquoketa, the Hawks had to make another road trip, this time to Western Dubuque on Friday.

The Hawks stayed close, but never got the lead in the whole game. They found themselves down 10-6 at the end of the first quarter.

The second proved to be just as rough for WD, with the Bobcats increasing their lead and putting the Hawks down 24-15 at the half.

With fouls plaguing the Bobcats in the third quarter, the Hawks got an opportunity to make six points from the line on Emily Heffernen free throws, but they still trailed 28-21 at the end of three.

The fourth quarter found the same woes for the Hawks, with Western Dubuque increasing their lead and taking the victory 43-34. The Hawks once again scored six points in the fourth on free throws, with Joslyn Sailer making three.

Emily Heffernen once again led the Hawks with 16 points, nine of which came from free throws. She grabbed 12 rebounds as well. Sailer put up nine points.

The girls hosted Dyersville Beckman on Monday and will host Central DeWitt on Friday and Oelwein on Saturday.

WD vs. Maquoketa
FG: WD 27-54 50%; Maquoketa 26-58 45%
FT: WD 10-19 53%; Maquoketa 7-12 58%
Assists: WD 22 (Hood 12, Gibbs 4, E. Heffernen 2, Sailer 2, Bries 1, Vaske 1)
Rebounds: WD 34 (E. Heffernen 11, S. Heffernen 10, Sailer 5, Vaske 3, Bries 2, Hood 2, Gibbs 1)
Individual scoring: E. Heffernen 28, Hood 10, Sailer 9, Bries 8, S. Heffernen 6, Gibbs 2,Vaske 2

WD vs. Western Dubuque
FG: W. Del. 8-34 24%; W. Dub. 14-49 29%
FT: W. Del. 17-24 71%; W. Dub. 12-23 52%
Assists: W. Del. 9 (Hood 4, Vaske 2, Hahn 1, S. Heffernen 1, Sailer 1)
Rebounds: W. Del. 34 (E. Heffernen 12, Sailer 6, Hood 5, Vaske 4, Bries 3, Gibbs 3, S. Heffernen 1)
Individual scoring: E. Heffernen 16, Sailer 9, Hood 4, Bries 2, S. Heffernen 2, Vaske 1