STATE CENTER – It’s been a rough patch for the South Hamilton girls’ basketball team, as of late. In their last three contests, the Hawks have run into some trouble.

Going up against No. 4-ranked (Class 3A) West Marshall in a Heart of Iowa Conference matchup, which took place this past Friday at the West Marshall High School Gymnasium, the No. 13-ranked (Class 2A) Hawks couldn’t quite catch the Trojans before being handed a 56-25 setback.

Trailing 18-7 at the end of the first quarter, South Hamilton was unable to get much going on offense, having been limited to single digit scoring over of the course of the final three periods.

“We came out flat and dug ourselves too big of a hole to climb out of,” Hawk head coach Mark Henderson said. “Our first three possessions of the game we turned the ball over, while West Marshall scored on all three of their possessions. So we found ourselves down 9-0 less than two minutes in. It’s pretty hard to beat a team as good as them when you fall behind like that.

“On top of that slow start, we also did not have a good night shooting the ball as a team. Once again, when you’re facing that tough of an opponent you need to be able to knock down some open shots if you want to compete. This was one of those nights where there just seemed to be a lid on the basket for us.”

Senior Hallee Feaker paced the Hawks with 12 points and eight rebounds, complemented by junior Tanna Thompson’s eight points and teammate Ashlyn Erickson’s four points. Senior Paige Doolittle rounded out the scoring with a single point against the Trojans.

“Have to give West Marshall a lot of credit,” Henderson said. “They clinched the conference title with that win. They really defended us tough and took advantage of our mistakes. Against a lesser opponent we might have been able to fight back and win this one, but to their credit they didn’t allow us to get back in the game at all.”

From their third consecutive loss, the Hawks tumbled to a 9-4 mark within the Heart of Iowa with a 14-5 record overall. The Trojans have won 11 straight games, improving to 19-1 overall with a 12-1 conference record.

Freshman Kaylen Trask pulled down seven boards, followed by junior Grace Neuberger’s four rebounds.

Next up, the Hawks will gear up for Senior Night, where they will take on PCM. Tipoff between South Hamilton and the Mustangs (10-10, 7-6 HoI) is set for 6 p.m. at the South Hamilton High School Gym in Jewell.