WHITE CLOUD — Hart didn’t find a lot of offensive success in half-court sets during Wednesday night’s district semifinal at White Cloud, but the Pirates’ defense proved so explosive it wasn’t necessary.
Hart turned defense into fast break baskets throughout much of the second half, taking the lead for good in the third quarter and defeating the host Indians 49-38 to advance to Friday’s district final against rival Shelby.
Guards Rilynn Porter and Natalie Rosema got in the faces of White Cloud ballhandlers throughout the game, and in the second half that level of effort produced turnovers, allowing the Pirates to get out and run, something they’ve proven adept at throughout the season.
“They have two girls that we had to shut down,” Hart coach Ron Williamson said. “I thought Rilynn and Natalie did a phenomenal job. Once kids see the work and effort that someone else puts into it, it’s easy for them to get into it, but Rilynn and Natalie definitely set the stage for us.”
Hart entered the fourth quarter clinging to a 32-28 lead before scoring seven consecutive points, fueled by Porter and Rosema forcing turnovers. The Pirates also displayed great passing on the fast break, making them even harder to stop while attacking the basket.
Williamson said his players deserved the credit for their defensive effort, adding that Joselyn Flores was also effective on that end of the court.
“Everyone’s going to sit there and tell you defense wins games,” Williamson said. “Obviously we work on it, but defense is really about the mindset of the players. Are they going to buy into it and want to fight to say that (an opponent) won’t score, or are they willing to give up easily? Tonight they fought hard to play a good game.”
“I take a lot of pride in the defense I play because in a way, it’s kind of what defines me as a player,” Rosema added. “Defense has always come first for me and then shooting and layups come after. Defense has always been something that I needed to be good at in order to have success.”
Both defenses had success early in the game, and after four minutes the score was just 2-2. Shortly thereafter, Porter and Rosema propelled the Pirates into the lead. Porter broke a 4-4 tie with a three-pointer, and a couple possessions later, it was Rosema knocking one down from deep, rescuing a possession that to that point looked uneven.
Rosema added a second trey in the second quarter, capping a 7-0 run that put Hart ahead 17-12.
“It was probably the best overall game that I’ve seen her play all year,” Williamson said of Rosema. “She’s a very good shooter, it’s just getting her to get the shot in rhythm. I thought she did a good job of that.”
The Indians responded with their own 7-0 run to take a 19-17 halftime lead. Andi Vincent punctuated that run with a three-pointer of her own, part of a 10-point quarter for her. She had a game-high 21 points in all.
Porter, usually Hart’s most effective scorer, stepped up in the third quarter to help her team grab the lead back. After scoring through contact - she drove into an Indian defender expecting a foul call and didn’t get it, but her off-balance shot went in anyway - Porter quickly hit a trey, making it 24-20 in the Pirates’ favor. Flores then delivered a great pass on the fast break, equaling a similarly excellent pass from Aurora Virtanen in the first half. That led to a White Cloud timeout with Hart up 28-22.
That lead extended to double digits in the fourth before White Cloud, buoyed by getting into the bonus less than three minutes into the quarter, battled back to a 40-35 score. However, after Leah Walker scooped up a loose ball and scored, the Pirates were never seriously threatened again.
Porter led the team with 16 points. Reese Smith chipped in 11 points and Rosema had eight.
Williamson said while the team is excited to get a third crack at Shelby after two competitive defeats earlier this season, the Pirates’ desire to live up - and add - to their recent successes is what drives them.
“Our goal wasn’t just to make the district finals...I think that pride of representing what Hart has been is more so than necessarily playing Shelby,” Williamson said. “Going into the season, we knew what the district finals were probably going to be. We’re fired up to face them and they’re a good team.”
