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Mississinawa
Valley senior Mallory Livingston looks to score Saturday
against Franklin
Monroe in the Lady Hawks 45-37 Cross County Conference
victory. The win gave the
Hawks their sixth straight victory and eighth
win of the season.
CNO Photo by Nancy Feldner, splitsecondsports.com
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Lady Hawks streak at
six
St. Henry up next
By George Starks
Sports Editor
UNION CITY- Mississinawa Valley may not win the Cross County Conference
title but the Lady Hawks are gearing up for a possible sectional title.
Saturday, Mississinawa Valley ran its winning streak to six straight
games, downing Franklin Monroe, 45-37 in CCC action.
Trailing 28-23 heading into the final eight minutes, the Hawks went on
a tear, scoring 22 points while holding the Jets to only nine fourth
quarter points.
“This was a win we really needed,” said MV coach Rodney Saintignon in a
phone interview late Sunday afternoon. “We started out slow in the
first half and started to pick it up in the second half. We trailed the
whole game and picked it up in the fourth quarter. We decided to play
ball at that point.”
All season, the Hawks have relied on a strong third quarter to get them
over the hump in tight first half games. Saturday, it was the final
quarter as Mississinawa Valley was held to just six points in the third.
“A strong fourth quarter is not typical for us,” said Saintignon. “I
think we were two for twelve shooting in the third quarter in the game
but we decided to step it up in the fourth quarter and score 22 points.”
With the offense sputtering for three frames for the Hawks, the defense
shined, keeping Mississinawa Valley in the game, trailing 10-8, 19-17
and 28-23 at the breaks.
“I was very happy with our defense. I think the girls are playing great
defense right now,” Saintignon stated. “With the exception of the first
couple of games at the start of the season, the girls have stepped it
up and played great defense.”
Defensively, the Hawks pressed, creating much needed turnovers
throughout the game.
“I really don’t know how many turnovers Franklin Monroe had,”
Saintignon admitted. “I know we did have at least 10 steals off the
press.”
The defining moment for the Hawks was easy for Saintignon to point out.
“We were down four points in the fourth quarter and Shelby Rehmert
drove in for a lay-up, made the shot and got fouled and made the foul
shot,” Saintignon admitted. “When she did that, I think that tied us up
or got us to within a point. I think they went down and scored after
that and Shelby nailed a three that gave us the lead. Then we started
pressing again but I think she scored eight points in a row and that
turned the game around in our favor.”
Leading the way for the Hawks in a balanced attack was Hope Neargarder
with nine.
Riding a six game winning streak, the Hawks will host St. Henry tonight.
“Six in a row is a great run and you always expect to win,” Saintignon
pointed out. “We have two really tough games against the MAC coming up
starting with St. Henry Tuesday and Parkway after that. These are going
to be some pretty stiff tests for us. We can’t come out sluggish and
expect to win”
Tip for tonight’s game is set for 5:30 p.m.
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