Despite a 26-point scoring effort by sophomore Dakota Kaufman, Hillsboro’s season came to an end Tuesday night as the Trojans lost at Marion, 67-55, in the opening round of sub-state play.
Offsetting Kaufman’s productivity was a 26-point night by Marion’s Lindsay Hett, including 19 points in the first half. Hett’s scoring and Hillsboro’s 16 turnovers through the first two quarters enabled the Warriors to take a 31-22 lead into halftime. Marion led by a point, 15-14, after one quarter.
After Marion extended the lead to 46-33 through three quarters, Hillsboro made one last surge, cutting the margin to 48-42 when Kaufman completed a traditional three-point play.
After Julia Zeiner drained two free throws on the next possession, Kauman came back with another basket on a putback to again close the margin to six with 5:56 to play.
But the Trojans struggled to make a basket the rest of the way, shooting 2-for-9. Meanwhile, Marion drained seven of 10 free throws over the same stretch to push the final margin to 12 points.
In addition to Kaufman’s productivity, senior Samantha Heinrichs finished her Trojan career with a career-best 13 points, including two 3-pointers.
With the loss, Hillsboro ends the season at 9-12. Marion will moves to the semifinals on Friday with a record of 11-10.
