Photo Courtesy of H-D Publications
The #13 (3A) Hampton-Dumont-CAL girls basketball team defeated West Fork for the first time since 2020 in overtime and the West Fork boys put an end to three-game slide as part of the Franklin County Coaches vs. Cancer event in Hampton on Saturday. The Bulldog girls won 40-34 and the Warhawk boys won 69-51.
In the girls game, West Fork led 17-12 with five minutes to go before halftime, the Bulldogs responded with a 7-0 run to go up 19-17 at the half. H-D-CAL led 30-27 entering the fourth. Both teams ran into cold shooting stretches, with combined nine points in the fourth. The Bulldogs led 33-29 with 7:24 to go, the Warhawks held the Bulldogs scoreless for the remainder of regulation and tied the game at 33-33 on a Leah Weaver layup with 41 seconds left. In overtime, the Bulldogs sparked a 7-1 scoring run that paved the way to the win. Bulldogs Head Coach Miranda Stafford on defensive battle and management of overtime.
“It was an intense environment. We knew it would be with two defensive-focused teams that like to get out, defend and play hard. They tied it, we could have broke going into overtime, missing free throws, missed calls, missed opportunities, and we didn’t. I thought that we came out in overtime and we kind of took over a little bit,” says Stafford. “Once we have the lead in a short playing time, I trust our defense to get stops. We haven’t beat them in the seniors four years, so it was a big one for them to get going out.”
Brooklyn Valley had 13 points and Charlee Morton added nine to lead the Bulldogs. Leah Weaver had 11 points and Brylee Dickman had eight for the Warhawks.
In the boys game, West Fork led 14-10 after a competitive first quarter. The Warhawks extended their advantage to 25-17 at the half, holding the Bulldogs to seven points in second. The Warhawks picked up the pace offensively in the second half with 44 points. The Bulldogs offense also improved with 34 points in the half, but were unable to battle back to within single digits in the loss. Warhawk Head Coach Abe Maske on winning all four quarters and uniting the county together in the fight against cancer.
“We’ve been working hard on getting to four quarters and not having that lapse in any quarters. We won all four quarters. We shared the ball, we moved the ball, we played good defense, we made adjustments on the fly. I couldn’t be prouder of them and it feels good to get that win again,” says Maske. “Again, this rivalry is about more than just the game. It’s about cancer awareness. It’s about bringing a county, with two school communities together to help raise funds to help support. Cause all of us have family members, friends, people that we know that are battling cancer. That’s probably the biggest and most important part of this whole thing.”
Ashyr Wisman went on a roll with a season-high 29 points and Xavier Haller also had a solid night with 20 points for the Warhawks. Brady Harr took care of business in the post and paced the Bulldogs with a season-high 32 points.
The Hampton-Dumont-CAL girls (15-1) and the Bulldog boys (3-11) will host Humboldt on Tuesday. The West Fork girls (12-3) and the Warhawk boys (5-9) will host Central Springs on Tuesday.
Hampton-Dumont-CAL Girls Coach Miranda Stafford Postgame:
West Fork Boys Coach Abe Maske Postgame:
