Ben Murphy
Sports Scene
The Sacred Heart Academy girls basketball team has rolled to a 16-2 overall and 8-0 Mid-State South record this season, partly because of elite play from the Hansen sisters – junior Erica and sophomore Sara.
“They’ve both been a great asset to the team,” fourth-year head coach Damon Brown said. “Erica with her inside presence and ability around the basket and Sara with her quickness and ability to be a big playmaker and strong defense as well. They’ve both been a key to our success this year.”
The 5’9” Erica is about three inches taller than her younger sister, which gives the Irish a unique inside-outside presence coming from one household.
“I really enjoy playing with Sara,” Erica Hansen said. “We’ve been playing together since we were really little. We know what each other is thinking, and when one of us is having a bad game we can pick each other up and help each other out.”
“We can go home and talk about the games,” Sara Hansen added. “We have a good relationship, so it’s pretty easy playing with her.”
One key reason for the Hansens’ success, according to their coach, is the fact that there doesn’t appear to be a rivalry between the sisters or the rest of the team.
“The big thing is they are both really unselfish players,” Brown said. “They want to do what they can do help the team be successful. It’s a really unique situation where both girls are so focused on the team that they don’t get caught up into the stats. One night Sara might lead in points while one night it might be somebody else. Their main goal is for the team to be successful.”
The sisters hope the team’s success this season, which has the Irish ranked second in the February 14 Associated Press poll, translates to a lengthy run in March as well.
“We have a really good team, we all get along really well,” Erica Hansen said. “Hopefully, we win districts and keep going from there.”
Last year the Irish fell in the district finals, 48-46, to Fowler.
“We really want to win districts,” Sara Hansen added. “Winning anything after that would be nice too.”