Trojan girls make a run at state-ranked Hesston

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN DON RATZLAFF
Unfortunately, basketball teams don’t earn extra points for determination. The only points that count are the ones on the scoreboard.

By that measure, the Hillsboro girls came up short, 43-40, in their sub-state semifinals matchup against top-seeded, state-ranked Hesston, 43-40, Friday night.

But when it came to heart, they were clear winners.

“We lost by 29 points the last time we played them and lost by three tonight-it was a great comeback,” coach Becky Carlson said. “We played with all the confidence in the world.”

And it took some chutzpa to stand with confidence before the mighty Swathers, who not only beat the Trojans 55-26 back in December, but went on to roll up an 18-2 record and occupy a top-five spot in the Class 3A rankings all season long.

And Hesston asserted itself early, jumping to a 7-2 lead less than 11/2 minutes into the game.

Hillsboro’s Hannah Marsh countered with her second basket of the game, this one from behind the arc, to cut the lead to two points. But by the end of the opening period, the Swathers were in front by six, 13-7.

A 3-pointer by Kristin Frey, followed by a drive and layup by Katie Sowers, pushed Hesston’s advantage to 18-7 in the first minute of the second quarter.

Hesston extended the lead even further when Liz Wray nailed a 3-pointer from the left wing, putting her team on top, 23-11, with 4:28 left in the half.

But Hillsboro battled back on a pair of free throws by Katie Fast, a 3-pointer from the right wing by Marissa Diener and then five more points from Marsh-the first two on a steal and layup, the rest on a traditional 3-point play in the paint.

The surge cut Hesston’s lead to 27-21 at intermission.

But the Trojans weren’t through. Another traditional 3-point play by Marsh, followed by a 15-foot jumper by teammate JuliAnne Chisholm, pulled the Trojans to within two points, 27-25, with 6:47 left in the third quarter.

But Hesston, capitalizing on a couple of Trojan turnovers, pieced together a 9-1 run that ended when Amy Duerksen drained a jumper with only 16 seconds left in the quarter. The basket put the Trojans within spitting distance at 36-29 heading into the final frame.

The two teams played evenly through through the first couple of minutes. But when Wray stole the ball and scored on a layup to put Hesston ahead, 42-33, with 4:22 to play, the Trojans appeared to be down for the count.

Even so, Carlson’s crew slowly battled back. Holding Hesston at bay on the defensive end, the Trojans scored on a jumper by Chisholm, an aggressive basket in the paint by Fast and finally a huge 3-pointer from Marsh from the right corner to pull miraculously within two points, 42-40, with 32 seconds left to play.

On Hesston’s next possession, Frey was fouled with 23.6 seconds to go and went to the line for a one-and-one. The Swather star drained the first free throw, but then missed the second one.

Hillsboro rebounded the ball and drove upcourt, needing a 3-pointer to tie. Instead, they tossed the ball inside to Fast who put up an off-balance 5-footer with three seconds left. The ball bounced off the edge of rim and into Swather hands as time elapsed.

“They made a couple of big shots,” Carlson said about Hesston. “I think we did what we could and they did what they could, and maybe what they could do was just a little bit better.”

The Trojans battled their turnover nemesis most of the game, finishing with 22. Even so, their effort on the defensive end covered a multitude of sins-just not quite enough of them.

“We did a good job of stopping them, and then we’d come down and turn the ball over,” Carlson said. “We just didn’t get the shots that we wanted, but we hung right in there and never gave up.”

Carlson praised her team’s fortitude when it seemed Hesston had them against the ropes.

“Hesston had several times where they could have pulled away against us and they didn’t,” she said. “We just stepped right back in there and never gave up and had an answer for everything they did.”

On offense, the Trojans’ only consistent answer was Marsh, who led all scorers with 18 points. The Trojans shot a combined 50 percent from the floor (15 of 30) with Marsh making seven of nine.

“She had a great game,” Carlson said. “She was very aggressive to the hole. We took what they gave us, and that’s what they gave us.”

Fast, the team’s lone senior, finished her HHS career with 11 points and blocks.

Carlson said her defensive scheme focused on stopping Liz Sowers, the Swathers’ aggressive 5-10 senior post who finished with only 10 points.

“We definitely tried to sag in against Sowers and make somebody else beat us,” she said. “I thought we did a great job against her. I thought our guards did a good job of sagging and helping out. Then we gave up some 3s that we knew we’d have to do.”

For the game, Hesston made 17 of 41 shots from the floor (41 percent), but only six of 20 in the second half.

Safely past Hillsboro, Hesston (20-2) pounded Hutchinson Trinity, 52-26, on Saturday night to earn a berth in the Class 3A state tournament.

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