The Mid-Prairie Golden Hawk boys and girls took care of business on a Senior Night Friday in front of a packed house at Tim Grady Gymnasium with the visiting Camanche Storm in town. The Golden Hawk girls opened the night with a 54-35 victory. The Hawks jumped out 10-3 in the first quarter and led 23-19 at half. A 10-2 run out of the break gave Mid-Prairie a cushion, leading 43-27 going to the fourth and they were never threatened down the stretch. After the game, Golden Hawk head coach Danny Hershberger talked about what he’s liked most from his team during their four game winning streak. “We stick with it. Our toughness has been really good. We have been  handling the physicality. In other seasons it felt like we shied away from that. The girls have really stepped up to overcome a lot of that. Cana (Rediger) came out and started us with a three and that was a huge confidence booster. Then in the second half to help us stretch out the lead she hit two big threes in the third quarter. We had a mismatch with Maddie Nonnenmann inside and she was able to take advantage of that when the transition offense wasn’t there.”

Mid-Prairie outrebounded the Storm by six and won the turnover battle 15-8. Maddie Nonnenmann led the way for the Hawks with 14 points, Landry Pacha got to double figures with 10. With the victory, Mid-Prairie is now 10-5. Mid-Prairie honored seniors Maddie Nonnenmann and Cana Rediger between games of the doubleheader.

The nightcap was a dandy, featuring a pair of top 10 teams with just one loss between them, and it was the No. 6 Mid-Prairie Golden Hawks who remained perfect with a hard-fought 51-46 win over No. 8 Camanche. Mid-Prairie never trailed in the game but the lead would grow no larger than nine over the course of the night, with the Hawks up 19-16 after the first. Mid-Prairie found some breathing room with their defense in the second period, not allowing a field goal to the Storm as they stretched the advantage to 29-20 at the half. Camanche threw a punch out of the gates in the second half, pulling within seven going to the fourth quarter. In the final frame Mid-Prairie would see their lead shrink to one possession on multiple occasions, but whether it was a defensive stop, free throws or a basket, Mid-Prairie had the answer for the Storm push down the stretch. After the game Golden Hawk head coach Daren Lambert talked about what he saw as the difference in a tight game. “The biggest thing that we were doing was team defense. Everyone is guarding the ball, it’s not just you worried about your individual matchup. We keep coming up with big plays because of the guys on the floor. The great senior leaders. Every timeout, they’re in the huddle challenging each other, talking about what we need to do. Carter (Harmsen) drew a lot of attention tonight and they were very physical with him. He’s our guy, and he was our guy again tonight with 19 points. Jack (Pennington) had his turn to score tonight as we seem to have different offensive players step up each game. He hit a couple of big threes and then free throws at the end. Justice Jones is our enforcer. When he comes into the game he’s going to affect things positively by making a hustle play, getting a loose ball, the things that don’t show up in the stat sheet. He also had a huge three for us in the second half.”

Rebounds were even between the two teams and Camanche won the turnover battle 16-14. Carter Harmsen led the Hawks individually with 19 points, Jack Pennington had 12 including two free throws to seal it in the final 30 seconds. Seven Golden Hawks scored in total. With the win, Mid-Prairie is still unbeaten at 14-0, Camanche falls to 12-2. Mid-Prairie honored seniors Will Cavanagh, Jack Pennington, Carter Harmsen, Ethan Kos and Justice Jones in a ceremony between games. The Mid-Prairie boys and girls are back in action Monday when they host West Liberty.