BY CODY CUTTER ccutter@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 5555

DIXON Throughout its opening-round game at the KSB Holiday Tournament in Dixon, the Oregon Hawks stuck with its usual zone defense against the Newman Comets.

While the vastly-different Hawks offense kept a lead on the Comets, they were never able to get comfortable. As the seconds ticked away in the fourth quarter to a mere 2.4, the Comets were only within one point and had the ball at mid-court.

Thats when Oregon coach Kristy Eckardt decided to switch things up. For the first time in the game, the Hawks switched to a man defense which was able to force a tip out-of-bounds, and then a shot attempt not from lead scorer Kelsey Simpson but from Sarah Trujillo 14 feet from the basket.

Trujillos shot to try to give her team its third win of the year bounced off the rim, preserving a 43-42 Oregon win at Lancaster Gym.

We wanted to throw them off because we had been running our zone defense the whole game, Oregon junior guard Anni Wilson said. We wanted to throw them off and see how they would react to a man. We were trying to cut off No. 23 [Simpson] because she made a lot of shots, so our goal was to cut her off and we did real well on that.

We were wanting to get the ball to Kelsey Simpson, Newman coach Brandon Kreczmer said. Shes been our lead scorer and our best shooter. They took her away, and I called another timeout to use her as a decoy. We just couldnt get a good shot in. Im just happy that they battled back in the end.

The Hawks (10-4), by the slim margin, move on to todays second-round meeting with United Township at 2:30. Theyll do so without the services of its lead scorer in Emy Wright.

Wright tore her ACL during the Hawks finale at the Polo tournament last Thursday, and was on crutches as she watched her team from two rows up behind the bench. She will be out for the remainder of the season.

It was a bummer Christmas present, Eckhart said. They were very positive and were all supporting Emy. The girls came out, and no one was scared. They all knew they had their roles to play, and now everyone just has to pick it up a little. But they did well stepping into their spots.

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Girls basketball: Hawks hang on against Comets