With a gas tank that never came close to reaching empty, Galetich attacked, attacked and then attacked some more defensively to lead South Hamilton to its first victory of the season, 48-17, in the Heart of Iowa Conference opener for both teams. The rookie point guard piled up 19 points and 11 steals, both career highs, before Hawks’ head coach Mark Henderson finally called her off early in the fourth quarter.

Film study prior to tip-off ignited Galetich’s aggression against a Greene County backcourt that wilted against her relentless pressure.

“I saw it from film that they didn’t like going to the left, so I knew it would be easy to pick,” she said. “We basically wanted to step on their throat and keep them down.”

Consider it done.

South Hamilton forward Caleigh Hewitt (22) battles for a rebound against Greene County Tuesday night in Jewell. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

Galetich’s energy was infectious too. Eleven players combined to collect 32 steals in all and seven had multiple thefts. Zoey Duns came up with six at the front of the Hawks’ press and Emma Lewis had three more working alongside Galetich.

Greene County (1-1, 0-1 HOIC) turned the ball over 45 times.

“The last thing I told (the players) before the game started is we’re going to win this on the defensive end of the court and they took pride in it,” South Hamilton head coach Mark Henderson said. “It was really good to see our hard work pay off. After three losses to start the season to good teams, you never know what the attitudes are going to be or what the confidence level is going to be, but they came out right away and felt that this could be our game.”

Slow starts plagued South Hamilton (1-3, 0-1 HOIC) in losses to Collins-Maxwell, South Central Calhoun and Iowa Falls-Alden — teams that are a combined 15-0 on the season, oh by the way — but the Hawks went in the other direction against the Rams. Caleigh Hewitt and Lewis rattled in the team’s opening two shots of the game and it was a sign of things to come.

Greene County’s Sadie Wilson rained in a pair of 3-pointers early in the second quarter to even the contest at 11, and then Galetich took over. She hit her own 3 and scored the next four points as well, which ignited a 27-2 flurry that spanned the second, third and fourth quarters.

Hawks’ freshman guard Tanna Thompson (00) goes by Greene County’s Emma Hoyle (20) on her way to the bucket on Tuesday in Jewell. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

Ahead 21-13 at the half, the Hawks outscored Greene County 15-0 in the third, as the Rams went more than 12 minutes without finding the bottom of the bucket. Hewitt knocked down back-to-back buckets, and Galetich followed with a 3, a quick steal and layup to push the lead past 20.

Fellow freshman Tanna Thompson helped Galetich hound the Rams from one end of the floor to the other. Henderson says it’s unique to see two first-year players attack the way they do, but he’s certainly not complaining.

“When they’re in the game, I think the speed of the game is faster and that gets us into our offense faster,” he said. “They’re relentless and I don’t think they get tired. With that attitude and effort right out of the gate as freshmen is pretty incredible really.”

Ashlyn Erickson, yet another freshman, added to the rout with nine points and eight rebounds. Grady also had nine points and Hewitt finished with six.

Even when Greene County was able to fend off the backcourt pressure, it was never able to get the offensive looks it wanted. After a 28-point effort in a 49-26 win over Ogden on Saturday, Rams’ junior post Brianna Habben was limited to just seven points on Tuesday. Duns battled for position against Habben throughout and Hewitt provided plenty of backside help when the ball was thrown into the post.

South Hamilton freshman Ashlyn Erickson goes over three Greene County defenders to score in the first half on Tuesday. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

It was 32 minutes of relief for a South Hamilton club that needed some success after lopsided losses to strong teams in its opening three contests. Henderson hopes the win will propel his club forward.

“I think we were pretty down, especially after last Thursday (a loss to IF-A),” he said. “So this was huge to get and I’m sure it will make the girls feel a lot better.”

Galetich says those initial losses provided her with motivation.

“They made us learn what we have to work on because that’s where we want to be at,” she said. “Hopefully we’ll get them next year.”

South Hamilton will head out on the road to face Nevada on Tuesday.

Hawks’ guard Paige Evans runs into Greene County’s Brianna Habben on a drive to the bucket. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

S. Hamilton 47, Greene County 18

Tuesday at Jewell

Greene County (1-1, 0-1 HOIC) — Brianna Habben 3 1-3 7, Eliza Carlson 0 0-0 0, Brianna Osterson 0 0-0 0, Makala Kafer 1 0-0 2, Lily Muir 0 0-0 0, Natalie Heupel 0 0-2 0, Sadie Wilson 3 0-0 9, Emma Hoyle 0 0-0 0. Totals: 7 1-5 18.

South Hamilton (1-3, 1-0 HOIC) — Tanna Thompson 0 0-0 0, Emma Lewis 1 0-2 2, Abby Ervin 0 0-0 0, Paige Evans 0 0-2 0, Makena Galetich 8 1-2 19, Kailyn Northrop 0 0-0 0, Kate Barkema 0 0-0 0, Caleigh Hewitt 3 0-0 6, Mackenzy Grady 2 4-4 9, Aspen Wibholm 0 0-0 0, Zoey Duns 0 0-0 0, Paige Doolittle 0 0-0 0, Ashlyn Erickson 4 1-2 9, Grace Neuberger 1 0-0 2, Maddison Freeman 0 0-0 0. Totals: 19 6-12 47.

Greene Cty. 5 8 0 5 — 18

S. Hamilton 10 11 15 11 — 47

3-point field goals — GC 3 (Wilson 3); SH 3 (Galetich 2, Grady). Rebounds — SH 32 (Erickson 8, Evans 4). Steals — SH 32 (Galetich 11, Duns 6). Assists — SH 6 (Galetich 2, Grady 2). Turnovers — SH 12. Team fouls — GC 11, SH 9. Fouled out — none.