The girls of Lynnville-Sully steam-rolled over the Ankeny Christian Eagles in their Class 1A tournament opener on Thursday night. The Hawks got out to a 9-0 lead within the first couple of minutes and it only got uglier from then on as the 35-point mercy rule had to be invoked with five minutes remaining in the third quarter, forcing the clock to run constantly for the remainder of the game.

The key to Lynnville-Sully’s 62-29 dismantling of Ankeny Christian on Thursday was a relentless full-court press that forced turnover after turnover in the first half. The press was wholly dominating, and the girls left no room for the Eagles to breather on offense.

Lynnville-Sully coach Jerry Hulsing was extremely pleased with the defensive effort that his girls came out with.

“We were there and never gave them anything easy to look at. I thought we were there on every pass, and just when they got the basketball we were there putting defensive pressure on them,” Hulsing said. “Having a hand in their faces the whole night was key. We really wanted to pressure their point guard. We ran several different girls at her, and I thought we did a good job there.”

The game opened with a quick 3-pointer by Hawks’ senior Becca Vos. The LS press then proceeded to force multiple turnovers leading to easy hoops for the Hawks in transition, and they led Ankeny Christian 23-6 after the first quarter.

The second quarter started more favorably for the Eagles. They managed to break the press three consecutive times, leading to seven easy points to pull them within 13 at 26-13.