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SH doomed by early turnovers, zero first quarter points against No. 14 Tigers

GILBERT – There was nowhere to hide, and for 32 minutes South Hamilton’s players had to endure a menacing opposing defense that never relented until the final buzzer mercifully went off Tuesday night.

Gilbert 46, South Hamilton 9. And not even the final score can give a clear indication of just how dominant the Tigers were on their home floor.

“I don’t know what happened (Tuesday night),” an exasperated Tony Woodall, South Hamilton’s head coach, said. “I have no idea.”

Assertive and downright stingy defensively, No. 14-ranked (Class 3A) Gilbert held its Heart of Iowa Conference counterpart to just four field goals an no more than four points in any quarter. South Hamilton turned the ball over on its first six possessions, was shutout in a 15-0 first quarter, and suffered through scoring droughts of 8:39 and 4:30 in falling behind 29-4 by the intermission.

The stretch without a point that spanned the second and third quarters eventually reached 8:17 before Allyson Ervin rattled in a 3-pointer from the left wing for her only points, but they were enough to lead the Hawks (2-14, 2-12 HOIC).

Kali Lucas, Carly Swenson and Bree Hodnefield added buckets for South Hamilton, which got off just 26 shots and hit at a 19 percent clip.

The Hawks had hoped to force Gilbert (12-5, 11-3 HOIC) to extend its zone defense in an attempt to open lanes in the paint. The Tigers did bring its defenders out, but they overwhelmed the South Hamilton guards and came up with 20 steals.

“Our whole plan was to be patient against them and take our time,” Woodall said. “But then we never reversed the ball, and that’s something we worked a lot on in practice (on Monday).”

Gilbert senior Paige Hoiberg popped off for 23 points on 8 of 14 shooting in just three quarters. She scored her team’s initial six points and had 15 by the half.

Hoiberg also collected five rebounds, five steals and two assists. She drained two of her three triples in the third quarter to push the Tigers’ cushion to 41-7.

Gilbert – winners of seven of its past eight games – attacked the glass with vigor as well, particularly in the first quarter, and finished with a 34-19 rebounding advantage. The Tigers piled up 19 offensive rebounds.

Savana Stangeland (five) and Kali Lucas (four) combined to yank down nine boards for the Hawks. Anna Moss collected two steals.

Ten different players scored for Gilbert, but only Hoiberg registered more than four points.

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