Despite trailing by 12 points with four minutes remaining in regulation and eight with just a minute left, the Hawks rallied the troops to force overtime and eventually stun Southeast Valley, 47-45 in double-OT, Friday night on Coach Jim Marsh Court.

Not exactly a bad way to kick off the new year.

“When we were still down 12 with about four minutes to go, I thought we were right on the edge of maybe giving up, but the girls fought through that and really picked up the intensity down the stretch,” South Hamilton head coach Mark Henderson said. “That was a fun, exciting game to be a part of. I’m so happy for the girls that we pulled it out.”

The game was knotted at 34 at the end of regulation and 40 after the first OT. South Hamilton (4-5) outscored Southeast Valley (5-4) 19-7 in the fourth quarter to extend the contest.

South Hamilton freshman Hallee Feaker (12) drives to the bucket during the Hawks’ 47-45 double-overtime win over Southeast Valley on Friday in Jewell. Photo by Angela Hewitt

It was anything but easy and maybe not aesthetically pleasing either, but the Hawks got the job done. They shot just 26 percent (15 of 56) and missed 25 free throws, but they also out-rebounded the Jaguars 53-37 and notched 27 offensive boards.

“Our rebounding advantage was huge,” Henderson said. “The girls did a great job of crashing the offensive boards as well as limiting SEV’s opportunities for second-chance points.”

Sophomore forward Caleigh Hewitt was a menace inside with a double-double — 15 points and 13 rebounds. Hallee Feaker scored eight points and joined Hewitt as a boards crasher with 11 rebounds. The two underclassmen combined for 16 offensive rebounds.

“We’ve really been working on getting the ball in to our posts more (and) we were able to get the ball to Caleigh on the block and let her go to work,” Henderson said. “She had a real nice game.”

Aneesa Balderas joined Feaker with two 3-pointers and scored nine points. Hailey Diersen and Emma Lewis added six and five points, respectively.

Feaker and Balderas drained 3s on back-to-back possessions in the final minute to trim the eight-point deficit down to two. Hewitt dropped in the tying bucket with 28 ticks showing on the clock.

Emily Jaeschke led Southeast Valley and all scorers with 16 points. Emily Hemmestad had 12 more for the Jaguars.

S. Hamilton 47, SE Valley 45 (2 OT)

Friday at Jewell

Southeast Valley (5-4) — Madison Lane 0 0-0 0, Chloe Hicks 4 0-3 9, Allison Bethel 0 0-0 0, Sydney Carlson 0 0-0 0, Haylee Welter 0 0-1 0, Jaynie Ferrari 2 0-0 6, Shelby Mills 0 0-0 0, Viatris Scott 1 0-0 2, Emily Jaeschke 4 8-11 16, Emily Hemmestad 4 4-6 12. Totals: 15 12-21 45.

South Hamilton (4-5) — Emma Lewis 1 3-4 5, Hailey Diersen 2 2-6 6, Hallee Feaker 3 0-7 8, Brookelyn George 1 0-0 2, Aneesa Balderas 2 3-8 9, Caleigh Hewitt 6 3-5 15, Aspen Wibholm 0 2-8 2, Mackenzy Grady 0 0-0 0. Totals: 15 13-38 47.

SEV 9 9 9 7 7 4 — 45

SH 6 4 5 19 7 6 — 47

3-point field goals — SEV 3 (Ferrari 2, Hicks); SH 4 (Feaker 2, Balderas 2). Rebounds — SH 53 (Hewitt 13, Feaker 11, Lewis 8). Steals — SH 11 (Feaker 3). Assists — SH 8 (Hewitt 3). Turnovers — SH 24. Team fouls — SEV 28, SH 24. Fouled out — SEV: Hicks, Welter, Jaeschke; SH: Feaker, Hewitt.