MONTAGUE – One thing was perfectly clear at Montague High School on Thursday night:

The Hart girls basketball team was sick and tired of finishing in second place.

For the past two seasons, the Pirates put a good team on the court, but finished second to Montague in the West Michigan Conference each year.

Going into Thursday’s showdown, Hart had a one-game lead over the Wildcats in the standings, and an opportunity to finally put an end to its frustrating runner-up streak.

The Pirates did so with an exclamation point, beating Montague 47-35 on the Wildcats’ home floor and clinching their first conference title in 29 years.

Hart has a conference game remaining and Montague has two, but there’s no way the Wildcats can catch the Pirates.

Hart finally has the trophy it’s been chasing for three years, and the Pirates couldn’t be happier.

“I think we showed our toughness and resilience by getting this done,” said Hart coach Travis Rosema, whose team snuck by Montague by one point earlier in the season. “We knew what was at stake, the girls really wanted it, and it’s just great to have this.”

Most observers figured that Hart and Montague would once again be among the teams battling for the conference crown this season.

But fate took a hard turn on the Pirates in the fifth game when senior standout Jayd Hovey went down with a season-ending knee injury

Who would have guessed that Hart could pull itself together and win a title without her?

“Our locker room thought we could do it without her,” said Rosema, whose team is now 15-3 overall and 13-0 in the conference. “We played a lot of summer ball without her, because she had some nagging injuries, and I knew we had the talent.”

Ironically, it’s another Hovey – Jayd’s younger sister, freshman Addison Hovey, who has stepped in and given the Pirates the extra spark they needed.

She came into Thursday’s contest averaging 14 points per game, and once again made a huge difference for her team.

Hovey finished with a game-high 17 points, including eight in the third quarter, to help the Pirates finish the Wildcats off.

“She is a tremendous talent.” Rosema said about the younger Hovey. “She can post up or drive by you. She’s still a freshman and sometimes still throws up some ill-advised shots, but she had eight big points in that third quarter.”

While it’s impossible to predict the future, it’s not hard to imagine Hart winning a few more titles over the next few years, because there is more talent on its way in the Pirate program.

“Our seventh-grade team won the conference, and our eighth-grade team won the conference, and our JV team played well this season,” Rosema said. “That’s three out of four, and that’s not bad.”

The Pirates made it clear from the beginning of the game that they were serious about winning.

Marlana VanAgtmael hit a triple about a minute and a half into the game, tying the score at 3-3. Abby Hicks added a steal and layup, Aspen Boutell nailed two free throws, then Addison Hovey had a steal and layup, and suddenly Hart led 11-3.

Montague clawed back late in the quarter, and the Pirates had a 13-8 edge at the first break.

Montague pulled within three points at 15-12 about three minutes into the second quarter, then the Pirates started attacking the basket, drawing fouls and hitting their free throws. Hovey and Boutell each made two from the line and Audrey Aerts added one in less than a minute, and Hart suddenly led 23-12.

The Wildcats also had their chances at the line, but missed all five of their attempts over the final three minutes of the second quarter, and Hart led 23-14 at halftime.

The teams played even in the third quarter, with Montague outscoring Hart 12-11 and trailing 34-26 headed into the fourth.

The Pirates had a 13-9 edge in the final quarter to nail down the victory. Boutell scored 10 of her 14 points in the quarter, including six from the free throw line.

Hart gained a very big edge from the line, sinking 18 of 23 free throws in the contest. Boutell was perfect, making all 10 of her attempts.

Montague, now 14-4 overall and 10-2 in the conference, only made 6 of 19 shots from the charity stripe.

Kendall Osborne led Montague with 10 points while Emma Dyer added 8.