February 6, 2021 – Hartford, WI – The battle between two North Shore Conference foes, Grafton and Hartford, was a high-paced, three-point oriented affair that could not be contained to a 36-minute game.
The Grafton Black Hawks started the scoring, but neither team truly took full command in the first half until just three minutes remained. From there the Hartford Orioles went on a brief run and entered halftime up, 42-34.
The Black Hawks started the second half slow, but through several failed offensive possessions by the Orioles, including a missed uncontested breakaway layup attempt, allowed the Black Hawks to bring this game back to its earlier seesaw nature.
The latter failed opportunity also allowed the Black Hawks to tie the game on its next possession. By the end of regulation, neither team gave an inch and the score was tied at 70-70.
The Black Hawks, who had made seven three-pointers in regulation (versus the Orioles’ 10 three-pointers in regulation), managed to seal the deal with help from an additional pair of three-pointers in overtime to win 80-77.
The offense came from multiple players on the Black Hawks team, with five players scoring double digits; Grafton was led by freshman Sarah Aleknvicius with 21 points. She was also the only player to foul out.
The Orioles also spread out their scoring with three players reaching double digits. Hartford was led by junior Becca Stoeckmann (19 points and five of the team’s 10 three-pointers) and senior Riley Resheske with 17 points.
