ASHLYN ERICKSON drives for South Hamilton against Nevada on Friday. (DFJ photo by Angela Hewitt)

JEWELL — The 12th-ranked South Hamilton girls finished off a busy week with a tough 56-40 setback to Nevada here Friday night.

A slow start doomed the Hawks, as they trailed 15-3 after the first quarter. They were able to cut the deficit to nine at the break and trailed by the same amount going into the fourth, but were outscored 13-6 over the final eight minutes.

“We were never able to get going in this one,” South Hamilton head coach Mark Henderson said. “We picked up some early fouls from our guards and that didn’t allow us to play the aggressive defense that we like to play.

“We had a nice rally to start the second half and came back to tie the game, but I think we expended so much energy that we just couldn’t quite get over the hump and take control of the game. Our girls really fought, but with us missing a couple of our top players and playing back to back nights, I think we just ran out of gas. Credit Nevada — they are a team that plays good defense and rebounds well.”

Ashlyn Erickson led the way for South Hamilton with 16 points, while Nevada’s Bridget Cahill poured in a game-high 25.

The Hawks (14-3 overall) were without the services of Makena Galetich, who suffered an injury the night before vs. South Hardin. Also, leading scorer Hallee Feaker fouled out.

Feaker scored 22 in a 56-39 win over South Hardin last Thursday, as the Hawks used a 23-9 fourth to distance themselves from the Tigers. Tanna Thompson added 11 and seven rebounds, while Erickson chipped in six points and six boards.

South Hamilton heads to Roland-Story on Tuesday and West Marshall on Friday before closing out the regular season on Feb. 7 vs. Monroe-PCM for Senior Night.