Hillsboro girls and boys took on Abilene teams that had two games under their belts... and it showed.
Hillsboro High School's basketball season got off to a disappointing start Tuesday, Dec. 6, as both the girls and boys lost to Abilene in the opening round of play in the Dickinson County Classic in Abilene.
The girls' 46-33 loss was a disappointing debut for first-year coach Melissa Stenfors. Her team built an 11-3 lead after one quarter, but the Trojans, who struggled with turnovers and poor shooting most of the night, found themselves trailing by halftime, 25-17.
After three quarters, HHS was still within six points at 33-27, but Abilene slowly but steadily increased the lead down the stretch. For the game, Hillsboro shot a frigid 24 percent from the floor (13-55). JuliAnne Chisholm led HHS with 9 points and Hannah Marsh added 7.
The boys lost a 68-59 decision to the home team. The two teams battled evenly through the first two quarters as the first quarter ended at 13-13 and the second quarter at 27-27.
But Hillsboro came up flat in the third quarter , and a 10-0 Abilene run midway through contributed to a 44-37 deficit heading into the final period.
With 4:00 to play, Hillsboro trailed by a game-high 14 at 57-43. A 3-pointer by Kyle Kroeker sparked a spirited comeback that brought the Trojans to within three points with 1:11 to play on a 3-pointer by Nate Holmes. Holmes injured his shoulder when he hit the floor after the shot, and that seemed to derail HIllsboro's momentum.
When play resumed,. Hillsboro fouled to gain possession, but Abilene stepped up with some clutch free-throw shooting to nail down the win.
Kroeker finished with 20 points to pace HHS.
On Friday the Hillsboro teams will play Rock Creek to determine whether they will play for third place on Saturday or for fifth place.
