The center let her play do the talking last week as her 14 points against Browerville and 20 points against rival Bertha-Hewitt led to two wins for the Pirates.
“We knew coming into the week these games could be some close ones that we could win,” Hammer said. “We really worked hard on what we had to do differently defensively against Browerville.”
The Browerville game went into overtime and Hammer mentioned the team did not feel tired during the four-minute overtime period to pull out the win.
Against the Bertha-Hewitt Bears, the mindset for Hammer and her teammates was playing well because they play a lot of different sports with the girls on the Bears.
“Bertha is our rival and we want to beat them,” Hammer said. “We play with them in other sports, so we want to beat them when we can. I knew they had a big post in there and going against them I had to go in defensively to keep her off the board and work around her.”
Pirates head coach Art Schluttner has noticed big improvements in Hammer’s game. As a center, she uses her body to get good position in the low post to finish and not get offensive fouls.
She is the only one in her class to really stick with basketball and it’s paying off.
“She has the most varsity experience on our team and has been a great leader for us,” Schluttner said. “Other teams have a hard time dealing with her in the post. She is a strong player and has figured how to handle and pick up space in her position. She’s a tough girl to defend on the low block.”
Schluttner acknowledged there might be extra motivation for the girls against Bertha-Hewitt because he knows they are teammates in other sports. Still, he did not expect to win by 30 points.
“I’m never quite sure how we are going to play against them,” Schluttner said. “Whether we are going to get after it, or we are going to hold back because these are kids they play with in spring sports. I think the girls knew this is a game we might be able to win.
“Bertha has a strong and tall post, so I was a little worried Melissa wasn’t going to be able to get her shots off. But Melissa scored early and I think she realized she was able to get her shot off even though this girl was 6-foot-2.”
Hammer averages just under 14 points a game and about 10 rebounds for the Pirates. In games she doesn’t score a lot of points, Verndale struggles.
“In those games, it’s usually because we can’t get her the ball,” Schluttner said. “She’s our security blanket down there and she wants the ball.”
Her go-to move down low is the drop step. It is something she has perfected for her senior year and what makes her a tough cover for opponents.
“I really just get the ball and take a big power dribble and try to push them out,” Hammer said. “Especially in that Bertha game I had to push them out so I could get the ball and finish or push them out to hold onto the ball defensively.”
Hammer said it’s different being the only senior on the team. Last year there were five seniors who played.
“I’m playing with basically a new team out here,” Hammer said. “I’m trying to have some fun and leave them off good for next year.”
Schluttner mentioned Hammer is not a vocal leader, but she is coachable and does what she asks which goes a long way.
The two wins last week helped the confidence of the Pirates moving forward.
Hammer thinks some of the conference losses they had early in the season should have been closer and can see the improvement the team has made.
“We have been getting better every game,” Hammer said. “Even in our loss to Henning, they are a good team and we still did some good things against them. We just look to continue to get better and hopefully win some of these conference games we have coming up.”
Year: Senior
School: Verndale
Sport: Basketball
Position: Center
Highlights: 14 points in an overtime win over Browerville and 20 points in a win over Bertha-Hewitt.
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January 18, 2020 at 06:00PM
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Female Area Athlete of the Week: Hammer's big week gives Verndale two wins - Brainerd Dispatch
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