When you live by the 3, the reality is you can die by the 3 as well.

South Hamilton’s perimeter-based offense was as icy as the road conditions outside in its season opener, as the Hawks struggled mightily to knock down shots in a 55-36 loss to Collins-Maxwell on Coach Jim Marsh Court.

The Hawks did just fine inside the paint where they connected on nine of 15 attempts. But from 3-point range was a different story — a 1 for 24 showing that gave them no chance of hanging with a Spartans’ team that utilized an 18-2 first-half run and balanced scoring to roll to the victory.

“I didn’t see this coming,” South Hamilton head coach Mark Henderson said afterwards. “We’ve been practicing well and shooting well, but we did not shoot well (Tuesday night) obviously.

South Hamilton’s Aspen Wibholm (30) and Caleigh Hewitt (22) battle with Collins-Maxwell’s Reagan Franzen (35) for a rebound Tuesday night. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

“I expected us to come in here and win and definitely not get beat this badly.”

The upside, at least for Henderson, was his team’s reaction to the performance.

“They’re really upset in the locker room and, to me, that’s a positive thing because I know they’re going to come back and work hard,” he said.

Collins-Maxwell’s Alexis Houge led all scorers with 20 points. Reagan Franzen finished with 12 and Kenzi Wiersen added 11.

Franzen poured in 32 of her team’s 38 points in the Spartans’ season debut against Woodward-Granger last Friday and that certainly got Henderson’s attention. South Hamilton opened in a zone defense that was geared to contain Franzen, and Houge took advantage.

Hawks’ freshman Hallee Feaker shoots from close range on Tuesday. She scored a team-high 10 points against Collins-Maxwell. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

“I did a bad job with the scouting report,” Henderson said. “I worried way too much about (Franzen) and we weren’t worried enough about the entirety of the team.”

Freshman point guard Hallee Feaker paced South Hamilton (0-1) with 10 points and eight rebounds. Brookelyn George finished with six points, Emma Lewis and Aneesa Balderas both produced five, and Caleigh Hewitt had four.

George’s first bucket of the game — a free throw line jumper — came with 30 seconds remaining in the first quarter to pull the Hawks within 11-8. But Collins-Maxwell (1-1) scored a pair of quick buckets before the period ended to ignite what turned out to be a rough 81⁄2-minute stretch for South Hamilton. The Spartans went on a 20-6 flurry over that stretch to open up a 31-14 halftime lead.

Foul trouble didn’t help Henderson’s club. Starting forward Hailey Diersen played just a handful of first-half minutes after picking up two fouls early on and then a third only minutes into the second period. And the inside touches were almost non-existent as South Hamilton continually attempted to close the gap from long distance.

“At halftime we talked about trying to get (the ball) into the post,” Henderson said after his club shot 27 percent overall (13 of 48). “Whether they shoot the ball inside or not, an inside-out 3 is better than a 3 off the dribble anyway. Our posts are good, so we want to get them the ball anyway.”

South Hamilton head coach Mark Henderson crouches near the end of the bench as he watches the action on Tuesday in Jewell. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

A driving basket by Feaker, followed by South Hamilton’s lone triple — a rainbow from the left wing by Balderas with 3:46 remaining in the third quarter — trimmed Collins-Maxwell’s cushion to 35-23, but the Spartans countered with a 10-3 spurt to extend the lead back to 19 points heading into the fourth quarter.

South Hamilton never got closer than 17 the remainder of the way.

The Hawks held a 37-35 rebounding edge, but Collins-Maxwell feasted on second-chance opportunities thanks to 14 offensive rebounds. Lewis (seven) and Diersen (six) combined to yank down 13 caroms.

Lewis also had two steals.

South Hamilton will attempt to rebound from the disappointing performance on Tuesday when it hits the road for the first time to take on South Central Calhoun at 6 p.m.

South Hamilton’s Brookelyn George (14) launches a shot from just inside the 3-point arc midway through the third quarter against Collins-Maxwell on Tuesday in Jewell. George scored six points in the Hawks’ 55-36 loss. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

Collins-Maxwell 55, S. Hamilton 36

Tuesday at Jewell

Collins-Maxwell (1-1) — Emma Kahler 1 0-0 2, Trinity Stover 1 2-2 4, Avery Fricke 0 0-0 0, Kenzi Wiersen 5 1-2 11, Janee Jones 0 0-0 0, Brooke Christie 0 0-1 0, Alexis Houge 9 2-7 20, Reagan Franzen 3 5-6 12, Ella Kahler 1 1-2 4, Izzy Hill 1 0-0 2. Totals: 21 11-20

South Hamilton (0-1) — Rocio Martinez 0 0-0 0, Emma Lewis 2 1-2 5, Abby Ervin 0 0-0 0, Hailey Diersen 0 3-4 3, Hallee Feaker 3 4-9 10, Brookelyn George 3 0-1 6, Aneesa Balderas 2 0-0 5, Caleigh Hewitt 2 0-0 4, Aspen Wibholm 1 1-1 3, Mackenzy Grady 0 0-1 0. Totals: 13 9-18 36.

Col-Maxwell 15 16 14 10 — 55

S. Hamilton 8 6 12 10 — 36

3-point field goals — C-M 2 (Franzen, Kahler); SH 1 (Balderas). Rebounds — C-M 35, SH 37 (Feaker 8, Lewis 7, Diersen 6). Steals — C-M 12, SH 6 (Lewis 2, Hewitt 2). Assists — C-M 12, SH 3 (Balderas 2). Turnovers — C-M 13, SH 17. Team fouls — C-M 19, SH 21. Fouled out — SH: Hewitt.