MAKENA GALETICH dribbles up the court for South Hamilton against Collins-Maxwell. (DFJ photo by Angela Hewitt)

JEWELL — The South Hamilton girls got their season off on the right foot, posting a 54-34 victory over Collins-Maxwell.

Senior Tanna Thompson scored 15 points with classmates Ashlyn Erickson and Makena Galetich each adding 12. Thompson, who had nine rebounds, three assists and two steals, knocked down three 3-pointers.

Galetich added seven rebounds with five assists and senior Grace Neuberger pulled down nine rebounds for the Hawks (1-0 overall).

“This was a nice win to start the season,” South Hamilton head coach Mark Henderson said. “We certainly didn’t play perfect, but for our first game of the year, I saw a lot of good things. I thought we moved the ball well on offense and created good looks for each other. We also got out and scored in transition pretty well. We had a good free throw percentage as well, and I’ll be happy any time we can knock down eight three pointers.

“I was also very happy with how the girls were dialed into our game plan and stuck to it. Collins-Maxwell has two girls who can score quite a bit if you let them, and I thought we did a nice job of identifying and focusing on those two. We have a lot of respect for their point guard, Erica Houge, and we knew we had to at least keep her in check for us to be successful.

“We told the girls ahead of time that she is the type of player who will make us break some of our own rules on defense as far as how to help on her. I thought for the most part we did a good job of forcing her into difficult shots.

Houge had a game-high 20 to lead Collins-Maxwell (0-2).

South Hamilton raced out to a 16-6 lead after the first, outscoring the Spartans in the second, 18-7. The Hawks have won each of the last three meetings between the two schools and four of the past six overall.

“We also had a few girls get their first official varsity action, and I thought all of them played well in their roles,” Henderson said. “We have a very experienced starting five who are going to play a lot of minutes for us, but we know we need help off of the bench as well. So it was encouraging to see our next five contribute.

“There is still plenty we need to work on, but all in all it was a good night.”

Up next for the Hawks will be a road game at South Central Calhoun on Tuesday night. They remain on the road for the next two dates, taking on Iowa Falls-Alden Thursday and Saydel Friday.