By RICHIE HALL
Reporter Sports Editor
If basketball games sometime resemble track meets, then Sheridan sprinted to the finish on Saturday night.
The Blackhawks overcame a slow start to run past Elwood 46-32 at Hobbs Memorial Hall. Sheridan trailed 13-7 after the first quarter, but worked its way back into the game by the middle of the second quarter, then ran away from the Panthers in the fourth quarter.
“The kids stayed focused and they fought through some adversity,” said Sheridan coach Jeff Guenther.
The ‘Hawks made a series of six-, seven- and eight-point runs throughout the game. Those runs got Sheridan back into the game when Elwood threatened to pull away in the second and third periods. Then in the fourth quarter, two more runs put the game out of reach.
The Blackhawks scored six straight points to tie the game at 13-13 in the second period. Nixon Williams scored four points – two free throws and a takeaway basket – then Audrey Reed tied the game with 2:02 left in the half with a bucket off a steal.
More importantly, Sheridan didn’t allow Elwood any points in that quarter until the 1:25 mark. A rebound basket by Reed kept the ‘Hawks within 17-15 at halftime.
Trailing 23-19 in the third quarter, Sheridan finished the period with six straight points to give it a 25-23 lead after three. Reed made back-to-back layins to tie the game, and Williams got the Blackhawks ahead with a putback.
Guenther credited his team with cutting off Elwood’s second-chance opportunities in the third quarter.
“We gave them one shot, done,” said Guenther. “We rebounded well. We hit a couple shots, we hit a couple free throws and we did enough to win.”
Sheridan blasted off in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Panthers 21-9. Guenther said a key shot was when Izzy Mangin hit a 3-pointer early in the period to put the ‘Hawks up 30-25. It was Mangin’s only basket of the game, but it came at just the right time.
“It took it from a one-possession game to a two-possession game,” said Guenther. “That was a big bucket.”
Heather Barker then took over in the fourth, scoring eight points. She was Sheridan’s leading scorer with 17 points. Guenther said that Barker “played really well within herself and did a nice job on the top of the trap. She did a nice job in the offensive end.”
Reed scored 16 points and pulled seven rebounds. Williams dominated the boards with 13 rebounds.
The Blackhawks are 2-2 and will next play at the Triton Tournament next Saturday.
Sheridan’s Heather Barker scored eight points in the fourth quarter to help the Blackhawks beat Elwood 46-32.
For a gallery of game action images, c https://capturephotographybydkirk.smugmug.com/Sheridan-vs-Elwood-G-V-BB (Kirk Green)