It took a few minutes to get the engine started, but once the Hillsboro girls got going, they cruised to a 55-25 win that had the continuous-clock in gear for most of the fourth quarter.
The Trojans never trailed in this game, but it was still 3-3 before Franny Gottsch hit one of two free throws at the 3:57 mark of the first quarter. That unassuming start launched a 9-2 surge that carried HHS to a 9-5 lead at the first break.
Callie Serene came off the bench in the second quarter to drain three 3-point shots to fuel a 25-point quarter and a comfortable 37-13 lead for Hillsboro at halftime. Tena Loewen added six points to the rally.
During the third quarter, the lead grew to 49-18 before settling at 49-20 at the final break. When Loewen scored her game-high 14th point 30 seconds into the final period, the lead was 51-20 and the clock rule kicked in. Coach Nathan Hiebert cleared his bench at that point.
Key to this game was the scoring support from Loewen and Serene, who hit a fourth 3-pointer in the third quarter for 12 points. Those two more than made up for Dakota Kaufman?s sub-par night. The senior standout finished with 10 points, and for the first time this season did not lead the team in scoring.
As has frequently been the case this year, the game turned on Hillsboro?s defense, which forced 21 turnovers in the first half and 26 for the game, which resulted in a 28-7 advantage in points off turnovers.
The win boosted Hillsboro?s season mark to 14-4, but more important the Trojans remain unbeaten (9-0) in league play as they head into their two biggest games of the season — Marion, with two league loss after Tuesday’s loss vs. Nickerson, on Thursday, and Collegiate, who is unbeaten in the MCAA and has only one loss for the entire year, next Tuesday.
BOYS
The Hillsboro boys played a competitive first half, but faded in the second half en route to a 54-37 loss. Ellin?wood canned three open 3-point shots in the first quarter and led 16-0 at the first break. Hillsboro battled back to within five at 27-22 at halftime on a 6-0 surge in the final 1:17 of the second quarter.
The Trojans, who stayed close in the first half despite 31 percent shooting, needed someone in the second half to step up offensively. It never happened. If anything, their collective energy waned as the Eagles slowly built the lead from 36-28 after three quarters to a 17-point spread at the end.
As a team Hillsboro made 13 of 45 shots (29 percent) from the field while Ellinwood made 16 of 38 (42 percent). The Eagles? Alex Birney scored 17 points to lead all scorers. Jesse Allen scored 10 points to lead HHS, who sits in the MCAA cellar at 0-9 and is 2-16 for the year. Ellinwood is 3-6 and 8-10.
(Free Press photos by Don Ratzlaff)
