The Hillsboro High basketball teams got the post-holiday part of their season off to a great start, taking a pair of victories at Hoisington on Friday night (Jan. 4).
The Trojan girls started the evening with a 40-31 win. Hillsboro led 10-8 after one quarter, thanks in part to eight points from Dakota Kaufman. By halftime, the Trojans were ahead by six, 19-13, with Amy Neufeld tossing in seven of Hillsboro?s nine points for the period.
Hillsboro maintained the six-point lead through three quarters, 26-20, then extended the lead to nine at the end with clutch free-throw shooting down the stretch, making 10 of 13 in the final period.
Kaufman finished with 15 points to pace the Trojans, who improved to 3-3 on the year. Amanda Faber added 13, included seven of eight free throws in the final 1:40 of the game.
The Hillsboro boys, meanwhile, upset the No. 4 ranked team in Class 3A, 60-46, in perhaps their strongest showing of the season.
Clay Shewey, although under the weather, was hotter than a pistol in the first half, scoring 16 points on 5-for-6 shooting from the floor and 6-for-6 from the line.
The Trojans needed every bit of offense, managing to maintain a 32-32 standoff at halftime.
In the second half, David Loewen assumed the scoring load, tossing in 14 of his 18 points for the evening in the final two quarters.
As a team, the Trojans were magnificent from the line, making their first 23 free throws of the night, including 20 of 20 in the first half. They finished with 26 of 29 charities for the game.
After three quarters, Hillsboro led 45-40, then pulled away in the final period as Hoisington threw up desperation 3-pointers toward the end without much success.
Shewey finished with 25 points for the night. In addition to 18 from Loewen, Gavin Serene made some clutch shots in the first half and finished with 11 for the game.
The win advances the Trojan record to 4-2.
