The Anamosa Raiders sent the Hawks back to Manchester with one more slash mark in the loss column. The West Delaware boys have been getting stronger as the year progresses, and the despite the recent loss, the Hawks still have a .500 overall record (4-4) and a 3-1 conference record.
The Raiders started out on top in the first quarter, leading the Hawks 10-14.

After being outscored by four in the first quarter, the Hawks came back to even the score by jumping four ahead in the second quarter, 16-14. The teams went to the lockers rooms locked at 26-26.

The Hawks didn’t quite pick things up in third quarter and were outscored once again 9-15. Going into the final eight minutes, West Delaware was trailing 35-41.

Neither teams were going to give up in the fourth quarter, and both put up double digits. West Delaware came back from their nine point third quarter to put up 12 in the fourth, but that couldn’t compete with Anamosa’s 16 points they added to their already dominant lead. The Hawks fell with a final score of 57-47.

Junior Ben Lechtenberg led the Hawks in scoring and rebounds, posting 24 points and 10 rebounds. BJ Hermsen added 10 pooints and six rebounds while Chris Crawford grabbed seven rebounds. Seth Engelken put up eight points for hte Hawks.

The Hawks will take some time off for Christmas break, but have scrimmages scheduled with Dubuque Wahlert on Dec. 29 and Linn-Mar on Dec. 31. They will return to regular season action on Jan. 4 when they host Vinton in the Hawk gymnasium.

WD. Anamosa
FG: WD 16-47 34%; Anamosa 21-46 46%
FT: WD 12-20 60%; Anamosa 12-17 71%
Assists: WD 17 (Engelken 5, Crawford 4, Kafer 3, Mangold 2, Hermsen 2, Klein 1)
Rebounds: WD 31 (Lechtenberg 10, Crawford 7, Hermsen 6, Engelken 4, Heinrichs 2, Kafer 1, Klein 1)
Individual scoring: Lechtenberg 24, Hermsen 10, Engelken 8, Crawford 4, Gaffney 1

The Hawks grabbed another victory in a close game on Tuesday night. The Anamosa Raiders came to town for a fight and went home with a 56-54 loss at the hands of a West Delaware team who improved their record to 5-3 with the win.

Emily Heffernen and Joslyn Sailer combined for a total 32 points and 21 rebounds in the contest. Heffernen with 20 points and 13 rebounds and Sailer with 12 points and eight rebounds.

The Hawks jumped out ahead right away in the first quarter, taking a 17-10 lead after the opening eight minutes. The Raiders would not hold a lead until the fourth quarter.

The Raiders cut the Hawks lead to one with only two minutes off the scoreboard in the second quarter. It was a race to the lead and it wasn’t clear who was going to be leading at the half until the Hawks were up by three with one second left and a Raider swished a three-pointer. No one had their lead at the half with the score set at 25-25.

Falling behind by 7 in the first quarter was the biggest deficit the Raiders would face all night. The Hawks led almost the whole third quarter, but the Raiders were breathing down their necks, and they needed to stay on their toes if they were going to keep their lead going into the fourth. With eight seconds left, Anamosa drained a shot that gave them a one-point lead over West Delaware.

With the score sitting at Anamosa – 37, West Delaware – 36, the fans were on the edge of their seats for the final quarter. There was no clear winner thus far in the game, and the fourth quarter wasn’t going to be much different.

The score was a constant battle, with one team making a basket and the other answering right back.

At one point, West Delaware failed to answer back and they fell behind 38-42. It didn’t take long for their defense to kick in and make the Raiders miss some shots as well. With two minutes left in the game, West Delaware was in the lead, 46-50.

The action of the last two minutes was enough for the whole night. Looking into the bleachers, several people put their coats on and took them back off within moments, realizing the outcome of the game was far from already determined.

With 31 seconds left in the game, and the Hawks holding a 52-50 lead, Ashley Hood was fouled and given the opportunity to possibly clinch the Hawk win. She sunk both baskets and put the Hawks up 54-50.

A Raider player was quickly fouled and after making just one of her free throws, the Hawks had the ball back, and Hood was fouled once again. She made her first free throw and the Raiders took the ball down court for a basket that brought them back within two, 55-53.

Following two timeouts, the teams took the court with just six seconds left on the clock. A Raider player was fouled and took the line once again, only to make one of the free throws. Emily Heffernen rebounded the ball and made a quick pass to Kayla Bries who made her second free throw.

Anamosa saw their opportunity to score with a mere 2.4 second left, and tried making a baseball pass down court for a quick basket. Bries came sneaking around a Raider player and dove for the ball to keep it out of the oppositions hands. The buzzer rang and the Hawks finally got to celebrate their much-deserved victory.

The Hawks hosted Dubuque Senior on Thursday, Dec. 20 before taking time off for Christmas break. They will be back in action at Vinton on Jan. 4.

WD vs. Anamosa
FG: WD 19-37 51%; Anamosa 22-51 43%
FT: WD 13-22 59%; Anamosa 7-10 70%
Assists: WD 16 (Hood 6, Bries 3, Vaske 3, E. Heffernen 2, Gibbs 1, Sailer 1)
Rebounds: WD 30 (E. Heffernen 13, Sailer 8, Vaske 4, Bries 2, S. Heffernen 2, Gibbs 1)
Individual scoring: E. Heffernen 20, Sailer 12, Hood 9, Vaske 8, Gibbs 3, S. Heffernen 3, Bries 1