Alley leads Lady Hawks over Crusaders

Hermon - Junior point guard Raychel Alley scored 12 of her game high 14 points in the first half to lead the Hermon Hawks to a victory over the John Bapst Crusaders 51-44 at Hermon High School on Thursday night.

Hermon came out on fire starting the game on an 8-0 run. Five different players scored in the first quarter. Alley scored seven points in the quarter to lead the Hawks. Hermon led 17-9 after one.

John Bapst turned the game around in the second quarter outscoring the Hawks 15-14. Junior guard Courtney Benson had five points to lead the Crusaders.

Hermon went into halftime up 31-24.

The Crusaders played much better in the second half getting back into the game. John Bapst outscored Hermon 12-6 in the third quarter. The Hawks held a slim 37-36 lead entering the fourth quarter.

Hermon responded with a solid fourth quarter of their own and hung on for the win. The Hawks went 6-9 from the free throw line in the quarter. Freshmen guard Allessa Oakes scored six big points in the final quarter for the Hawks.

Eight players scored for the Hawks. Junior guard Jenna Crouse and Oakes each had 12, sophomore Shelby Caron added five, junior Savannah Allain contributed with three, Shaniah Haskell and Katie Kivler each with two and Claire Peterson chipped in with one point.

Benson led the Crusaders with 12 points. Junior guard Jordan Turner had nine, Maegan True, Karrie O’Donnell and Cassie Campbell each added six points, Tessa Lilley contributed with three and Darby Paul chipped in with two.  

Hermon shot 50 percent (7-14) from the free throw line. John Bapst shot 62 percent (8-13) from the charity stripe.

The Hawks finished the regular season in 10th place at 9-9. They will travel to #7 Camden Hills on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in the preliminary round of the playoffs. The winner will play the #2 Oceanside Mariners (16-2) on Friday February 15th.

John Bapst finished the season in 16th place at 4-14.