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HARTINGTON — Hartington-Newcastle used three big wins to take the title in the Clark Division of the Lewis and Clark Conference Tournament over the past week.
The Lady Wildcats won the title over Wausa Feb. 3, 52-33, after defeating Osmond-Randolph 48-28 in the semifinals and advancing to the semis with a 73-33 win over Walthill in the opening round.
After the 19-, 20- and 40-point wins, it’s safe to say Hartington-Newcastle is coming along just fine.
In fact, going back to Jan. 24, the Lady Wildcats have won five straight to improve to 11-8 on the season heading into the final week of the regular-season campaign.
“I’m so excited for the girls to win their side of the conference tournament,” Lady Wildcats coach Grant Rolfes said. “It was a really fun week of basketball.”
And the coach points to one side of the court his team has really improved on through the first 19 games of the season.
“Our defense as a team has really improved,” Rolfes said. “The girls have worked hard and it’s starting to show, which is rewarding and very exciting.”
Against the Lady Vikings in the finals, the Lady Wildcats limited Wausa to just two field goals in the first eight minutes to grab a 12-4 lead at the first rest stop.
The advantage grew to 10 at the intermission and then to 20 after the third break. HNS cruised from there for the win and championship hardware.
Alivia Morten had an outstanding final, pouring in 27 points on 7-for-12 shooting from the field and a 7-for-10 showing at the freethrow line.
McKenzie Bruning added 11 points, Olivia Grutsch chipped in six and Lauren Howell contributed five points.
Grutsch grabbed nine rebounds, including seven on the offensive end of the court, Zoey Gratzfeld had eight and Maddie Steffen yanked down seven.
In the semifinal win over the Lady Hawks, it was Morten who set the table and sparked her team to an early lead on the way to a rather lopsided outcome.
“Alivia Morten hit a couple of shots early in the first quarter that settled us in,” Rolfes said. “We then got contributions from several others to complete the game and get us to the finals.”
The Lady Wildcats led 17-6 at the end of the first and relied on their defense in the second frame to retain the advantage.
In fact, Hartington-Newcastle held Osmond-Randolph to a single basket in the period and took a 21-8 lead into the halftime locker room.
HNS increased the lead by six points in the third quarter then held on for the 20-point win and earning a spot in the finals.
The one-two punch of Morten and McKenzie Bruning paced the Lady Wildcats with 16 points each, Gratzfeld tacked on 10.
Howell added four and Mani Lange had two.
Bruning completed a double-double by pulling down 11 rebounds, Grutsch grabbed five. Lange dished out six assists.
Hartington-New 17 4 15 12-48 Osmond/Rand 6 2 9 11-28
SCORING
Hartington - Alivia Morten, 16; McKenzie Bruning, 16; Zoey Gratzfeld, 10; Lauren Howell, 4; Mani Lange, 2.
REBOUNDS
Hartington - McKenzie Bruning, 11; Olivia Grutsch, 5; Alivia Morten, 4; Maddie Steffen, 3; Mani Lange, 3; Lauren Howell, 3; Zoey Gratzfeld, 2; Kennedy Peitz, 1.
ASSISTS
Hartington - Mani Lange, 6; Alivia Morten, 3; Olivia Grutsch, 2; Maddie Steffen, 2; Lauren Howell, 2; Kennadi Peitz, 1. Hartington-New 12 12 19 9 - 52 Wausa 4 10 9 19-33
SCORING
HNS - Alivia Morten, 27; McKenzie Bruning, 11; Olivia Grutsch, 6; Lauren Howell, 5; Zoey Gratzfeld, 2; Mani Lange, 1. Wausa - Abby Kaiser, 10; Alexa Cunningham, 8; Taylor Dawson, 7; Sienna West, 4; Olivia Barta, 2; Mackenzie Vanness, 2.
REBOUNDS Hartington - Olivia Rutsch, 9; Zoey Gratzfeld, 8; McKenzie Bruning, 7; Alivia Morten, 4; Mani Lange, 2; Lauren Howell, 2; Hazel Hochstein, 2. Wausa - Alexa Cunningham, 6; Sienna West, 2; Taylor Dawson, 1; Abby Kaiser, 1; Hadley Vanness, 1.
ASSISTS
HNS - McKenzie Bruning, 4; Olivia Grutsch, 3; Alivia Morten, 2; Mani Lange, 1. Wausa Abby Kaiser, 1;Alexa Cunningham, 1; Olivia Barta, 1; Sienna West, 1.
STEALS
Wausa - Olivia Barta, 3; Abby Kaiser, 3; Avery Stevens, 2; Hadley Vanness, 1; Alexa Cunningham, 1; Sienna West, 1; Ainsley Dawson, 1.
