Photo Courtesy of MP Sports Social Media (Nicole Miller)

The No. 12 in Class 3A Mid-Prairie Golden Hawk girls basketball team took the home fans on a twisting, turning ride Thursday night at Tim Grady Gymnasium. One that ended in a 55-54 win over the visiting No. 8 Iowa City Regals.

With the contest even at 17 after the first, the Hawks put together a 14-2 run to close the half with a 31-24 advantage. The run would continue out of the locker room and reach 23-7 in total, pushing their lead to 16 late in the third quarter. Trailing 49-34 entering the fourth, the Regals outscored the Golden Hawks in the final period 20-6, and took a brief one point lead in the final 90 seconds. Down to their last 20 seconds, out of a timeout, Mid-Prairie senior Katelyn Harland had her shining moment, driving the lane to connect on a floating shot with seven seconds to go, giving the Hawks the lead. The Golden Hawk defense did the rest, coming up with a final defense stand that saw Regal All-State candidate sophomore Addie McLaughlin’s potential game-winner rim out at the horn. Following the win, Mid-Prairie head coach Jenny Hobbs joined the KCII Postgame show to break it down. “I’m still catching my breath! You knew Regina was not going to go away. There wasn’t much time left and Katelyn (Harland) took it to the basket. That’s actually her shot. She had to step up and she did. I saw grit, determination, belief in each other. All of those things that, going into postseason, you want to see. They were just having fun!”

The Hawks won turnovers 24-16, Regina won rebounds 32-26. Jovi Evans led Mid-Prairie with 15 points, Morgyn Bender had 14 and Brooklyn Schneider 10. McLaughlin led the Regina attack with 25 points. The win is the first for the Golden Hawks over Regina in eight years and snaps a 14-game losing streak to their rivals. Both teams now stand at 16-5 on the season.