HHS girls advance to state semifinals

Written by Don Ratzlaff Thursday, 08 March 2012 20:40

Krista Reimer maneuvers in the paint early against Caney Valley. Reimer scored 15 points for HHS.    Survive and advance. Ultimately, that’s the only accomplishment necessary at this point of the basketball season, and the Hillsboro girls accomplished that Thurs­day with a gritty, sometimes ugly, 48-39 win over Caney Valley in the quarterfinals of the Class 3A state tournament in the Hutchin­son Sports Arena.

Danae Bina was one of the few bright spots offensively for Hillsboro on a night when the Trojans committed 18 turnovers, made only one of 10 shots from behind the arc and had two of its scorers, Addie Lackey and Krista Reimer, in foul trouble for much of the evening.

Bina came off the bench to score 16 points, including eight points in the fourth quarter to keep the Bullups at bay down the stretch.

Some credit for the Trojans’ woes on offense goes to the aggressive defense of Caney Valley. Fortunately, the Trojans’ defense was even better, limiting the Bullpups to 10 percent shooting for the first half (2-20) and 24 percent for the game.

Courtney Weber passes out of trouble during the first half of Thursday's quarterfinals.   Both teams struggled for points in the opening quarter. Lackey hit the very first shot of the game and Caney Valley responded with a free throw and their only field goal of the period to take a 3-2 lead. When Bina scored her first basket, the Trojans claimed a 6-5 lead at the 2:45 mark and maintained it as the quarter ended. The two teams combined for 4-for-22 shooting during the period.

Lackey picked up her third foul at the 2:27 mark of the second period, sending her to the bench. Maci Schlehuber stepped with a 3-pointer moments later to put HHS on top 15-9. The two teams traded a pair of points as the half ended with a 17-11 Hillsboro lead.

After Bina began the third quarter with a traditional three-point play, Caney Valley launched a 6-0 surge that closed the gap to 20-17 with 5:39 to left in the period. Lackey picked up her fourth foul that led to the final two free throws of the run. In spite of that, Hillsboro pushed the lead to 26-19 before Caney Valley’s Makenzie Vining drained a 3-pointer in the final minute to cut the cushion to four points at the final break.

Maci Schlehuber puts up shot during the second quarter. She contributed seven points for Hillsboro. After the two teams traded two points to start the fourth period, Bina completed her second three-point play of the game at the 6:09 mark. Reimer scored in the paint on a nice feed from Lackey, Bina made three of four free throws, and Lackey and Reimer hooked up for one more basket to give HHS a 38-26 lead with 3:48 to go.

Lackey fouled out of the game moments later, but the Trojans held on to the victory, thanks to 8-for-12 shooting from the line over the final 3:12.

Reimer finished with 15 points to complement Bina’s production on offense, and pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds. The Trojans, who improved to 22-2, finished the game with 44 percent shooting (14-32) and made 19 of 25 free-throws. Caney Valley (18-6) made 15 of 18 free throws, but only 11 of 46 shots from the floor (24 percent).

Hillsboro will play No. 2 seeded Burlington (23-1) in the semifinals Friday, starting at 3 p.m. Burlington defeated Holcomb, 62-47, in Thursday’s 3 p.m. contest.

Addie Lackey drives the baseline during the second half. The sophomore was in final trouble much of the night. Coach Nathan Hiebert offers counsel to Addie Lackey and Danae Bina during the second half. Coach Nathan Hiebert offers input to Callie Serene (13) and Maci Schlehuber as teammate Danae Bina goes to the free throw line late in the game.