When Hanover hosted the Lee-Davis girls basketball team on Friday night, the game held all of the drama and tension one would expect from a county rivalry. The nip and tuck battle my not have been pretty early but all it took was an extra period to add glamour to the contest.

  In overtime Hanover went 4-for-4 from the floor and hit 6-of-7 free throws to hold off a valiant Lee-Davis effort and win 56-53.

  Due to youth, Hanover (6-10, 3-4 Capital) has faced struggles all season long and the rival victory could not have come at a better time for a team looking to build confidence.

  Therefore, Hawks coach Kevin Brooks had specific instructions for his team in the locker room.  “I wrote on the board before the game, do whatever it takes to win,” he said. “Quite honestly, every single member of our team found some part of how they could find a way to win and help us win.

  “I’m just really excited with their effort,” Brooks said. “We’ve had some things that haven’t gone as well as we liked and I think this group needed this and I’m proud of something going right for them. Well warranted and well deserved.”

  In somewhat a role reversal, Lee-Davis (8-8, 2-5) came into the contest holding the best overall record among county teams in the Capital District. And though the Confederates seemed to be in control of the contest, Hanover repeatedly bounced back when they were needed most.

  The Hawks’ first obstacle came six minutes into the game when point guard Taylor Woolard went to the bench for the remainder of the half after picking up her third foul.

  Then to compound matters, soon afterward Lee-Davis junior Trina Gardner hit her second three of the contest to give the C-feds an 11-6 lead.

  But even without Woolard the Hawks found a way to get back into the contest. Three free throws from Mariah Douglas bracketed a three from Erica Hess to give Hanover a 12-11 lead.

  Then the Hawks suffered another setback at the beginning of the second quarter when guard Brooke Throckmorton joined Woolard on the bench with her third foul. 

  With both of Hanover’s starting guards riding the pine, Lee-Davis pulled out to a 19-13 lead with five minutes to play in the half.

  But the Hawks once again found an answer.

  Defensively, Hanover shut down the C-feds and held them without a field goal over the remainder of the period. Then with freshman Sarah Robertson running the point, they settled down and controlled the ball.

  Douglas scored on a layup, Amber Norris a free throw and Haliegh Omohundro added two more. When Rachel Fehl made a short jumper with 1:34 to play in the half Hanover pulled ahead 20-19.

  Lee-Davis edged back in front 22-20 but Hess, who led Hanover with 18 points, answered with a three.

  Lee-Davis’ Logan Bryan, who led all scorers with 19 points, scored five straight for the C-feds to pull ahead 27-23 but Hess drilled another three with four seconds remaining to trim the lead to one heading into the locker room.

  “I thought Sarah Robertson was tremendous in the first half, a freshman coming in and having to handle the ball like that, great job,” Brooks said. “Erica Hess making free throws and hitting three or four threes in the first half to keep us in the game when we were really struggling.”

  Coming out in the second half, Bryan quickly pushed Lee-Davis’ lead back to three but the Hawks answered on a shot from Fehl, a plus-one field goal from Woolard and a jumper from Douglas to take a 33-30 lead.

  Hanover pushed that margin to 39-33 with 5:26 left in the game, but it was Lee-Davis turn to answer.

  A pair of free throws from Caroline Naumann (14 points) were followed by a layup from Bryan and two free throws from Gardner to tie the game at 39 with 3:38 to play.

  Douglas put the Hawks back on top but Naumann swished two freebies to re-tie the game at 41 with 1:28 to play.

  Neither team could take advantage of opportunities down the stretch to win the game.

  With 1:01 to play, Douglas missed the front end of a 1-and-1. Lee-Davis knocked the rebound out and on the inbounds play Hanover threw the ball away.

  The C-feds took possession in the final minute and looked to run down the clock to take the last shot of the game. With the seven seconds to play and the offense looking static, Lee-Davis head coach Alvin Puller called a timeout. Unfortunately, for the C-feds, the timeout came at the same moment Bryan drove into the lane and was knocked to the floor on what would have been a foul.

  On the inbounds, Naumann missed a shot and the ball went out of bounds off Bryan with :03 to play, giving Hanover a shot at last minute heroics. But the Hawks’ inbounds pass was picked off by Naumann at midcourt and her buzzer beater was just left of the basket.

  In overtime, the lead see-sawed back and forth until Hess was fouled while attempting a three with a minute and a half to play. Hess made all three free throws then Throckmorton drilled a dagger three from the right baseline seconds later for a 53-48 Hanover lead.

  But a three from the right wing by Bryan pulled Lee-Davis within two with 34 seconds to play.

  With nine seconds remaining, Norris made one of two free throws to put the Hawks up 54-51, but Bryan scored again to pull L-D within one with six seconds to play.

  Hess was fouled and made both free throws to give Hanover a 56-53 lead with three seconds remaining and Bryan’s shot at the buzzer was short.

  “I think the thing that’s unfortunate about a game like this is, it’s such a well played game, it’s a shame that somebody loses,” Brooks said. “I think that’s the kind of games that you’ll see in our county going forward. I think all three teams are pretty young, pretty competitive and pretty balanced and I think you’ll see that a lot.”

HANOVER 56, LEE-DAVIS 53 (OT)
LEE-DAVIS (8-8, 2-5 Capital) — Winston 0, Holmes 2, Thomas 0, Bryan 19, Savage 0, Price 2, Boothe 3, Gardner 10, Naumann 14, Culver 0, Hughes 3, Hensley 0. Totals 15 22-30 53.
HANOVER (6-10, 3-4) — Woolard 5, Norris 2, Throckmorton 3, Fehl 10, Douglas 15, Omohundro 2, Lankford 0, Robertson 0, Hess 18. Totals 18 15- 20 56.
Lee-Davis…........ 13 14 6 8 12 — 53
Hanover….......... 12 14 9 6 15 — 56
3-point goals — LD: Gardner 2, Bryan; H: Hess 4, Throckmorton.
Highlights — LD: Logan Bryan six steals; H: Rachel Fehl 10 rebounds; Mariah Douglas 11 rebounds;
As a team, Hanover went 4 for 4 from the field, and 6 for 7 from the free throw line in overtime.