SULLY — Lynnville-Sully junior Reagan McFarland scored 55 points total last season for the girls' basketball team.
So far this season, McFarland has put in 20 points, and it was her 11 points off the bench on Monday night that helped push the Class 1A No. 9 Hawks to a win in their home opener.
McFarland scored the first five points of the fourth quarter to extend L-S' lead to 12 points, and the Hawks went on to win 49-40 over Pleasantville despite another poor shooting performance.
McFarland is the only non-senior in the group of seven varsity players who consistently log minutes. She blends in well with a group that doesn't mind sharing the basketball.
"Being able to get to the basket and either shoot it or find a teammate and then hit the 3-pointer are usually keys to the game," McFarland said. "I think we work together really well. It's an awesome group to play with."
It was another tought shooting night for the Hawks, who connected on just 34 percent of their shots. They also were only 2-of-12 from 3-point range and hit 7-of-18 from the free-throw line.
However, L-S (2-0) turned it over only 10 times, scored 15 points off 22 Pleasantville turnovers and had a 17-2 advantage in bench points.
Those 17 points came from McFarland and senior Meleisha Vos, who scored six points and grabbed two rebounds.
McFarland already has 20 points in two games this season. She adds another scoring option off the bench to go with a large number of seniors.
"We're scrappy. We are finding ways to get it done. It hasn't been pretty," L-S head coach Jerry Hulsing said. "We need to be more physical. We need to finish better. We are executing the offense and getting great looks. We are not finding the bottom of the nets. We'll keep working on it."
The Hawks led 15-14 after one quarter. Senior Krystal Van Dyke scored six points in the period and each bucket extended the Hawks' lead to four each time. Pleasantville's Rachel Harvey hit a 3-pointer in the closing seconds to make it a one-point game after the first frame.
The game remained close in the second period. It was tied twice before a putback by senior Korinne Jansen and buckets inside the lane by Vos and senior Megan Van Zante put the home team in front 26-20.
Another 3-pointer by Pleasantville, this time by Adi Adreon, closed the gap to three points at halftime.
After Pleasantville scored the first bucket of the second half, L-S scored 10 of the next 12 points to grab control of the game.
That stretch included a technical foul on an assistant coach from Pleasantville. Both head coaches also were given sportsmanship warnings and a fan from Pleasantville was ejected.
"It was a physical game and we learned we need to be physical with the ball as we had our hands on the ball a bunch of times and got it knocked out," Hulsing said.
The 10-2 run proved to be the difference in the game as the Hawks led 38-31 after three quarters.
Then McFarland scored five in a row to open the fourth. She picked the pocket of a Pleasantville ball handler and went coast-to-coast for the layup. She buried a 3-pointer on the Hawks' next possession and another 10-2 run put the game out of reach for the Trojans (1-1).
Hulsing loved the way his team ran the offense and the way they shared the ball. But at some point, they'll need to shoot the ball better to win.
"The last four or five trips down the floor, we ran our offense well. We executed and maybe scored twice," Hulsing said. "All five shots were shots we wanted. If we scored all five of those trips, it's a 15-point win. We are getting the shots we want. We just need to get the confidence to knock them down."
Van Dyke recorded her second straight double-double of the season, finishing with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Senior Cally Gibbs put in nine points, grabbed three rebounds, dished out two assists and swiped two steals.
Jansen added six points and four rebounds, senior Caitlin Alberts chipped in seven rebounds, three assists and two steals and Van Zante collected five boards, two assists and three steals.
Notes: The Hawks had 12 steals in the game and grabbed 12 offensive rebounds. They scored 10 second-chance points and held the Trojans to 31 percent shooting from the floor. ... Pleasantville got 25 of its 40 points from two players as Adreon scored 13 and Harvey put in 12. The Trojans made five 3-pointers in the game. ... L-S next goes on the road for a boy-girl varsity doubleheader against Colfax-Mingo on Dec. 1 in Colfax.