HHS girls overcome by Hesston

Hillsboro?s Maddie Duerksen protects the ball as she tries to drive the baseline against Hesston?s Ali Jost during the first quarter of the game with Hesston. The Swathers, ranked No. 1 in Class 3A,  prevailed 47-28.After a 12-point loss to Hess?ton during the Trojan Classic three weeks earlier, the Hills?boro girls would need their ?A? game to have a chance of overcoming the talent, height and depth of the Swathers Friday at Brown Gymna?sium.

It just didn?t happen. The Swathers, ranked No. 1 in Class 3A, improved to 15-1 with a 47-28 win while Hills?boro?s record dropped to 12-5.

Through the first quarter, the Trojans appeared to be up to the task. When Addie Lackey sank a pair of free throws with 1:31 left in the first quarter, Hillsboro led 10-7. Hesston came back to tie the game at 10 as the quarter ended.

The Swathers hit a pair of free throws to start the second period, but a three-pointer by Alex Ratzlaff gave Hills?boro a 13-12 lead at the 5:45 mark.

Then, unexplicably, the well went dry. The Trojans made only one more field goal the rest of the half, and couldn?t stop Hesston?s inside attack. By halftime, the Trojans trailed 26-16.

Unfortunately, the drought continued through the second half as Hills?boro made only three of 12 shots. Two of the baskets were threes from Lackey and Danae Bina, but it just wasn?t enough to get back into contention. Only a strong defensive effort by the Trojans limited Hesston to a 12-point lead after three periods, 36-24.

Needing points quickly in the final quarter, the Trojans began rushing their shots and made only one of 12. Hesston took advantage, pushing the margin to 19 points as the game ended.

The Trojans shot a season-low 17 percent (6-24) in the second half. Lackey led with 15 points and Bina added nine. The only other two Trojans who scored combined for a mere four points.

?Addie and Danae get a lot of attention. If we don?t get a lot of the other girls picking up some stuff, other teams can clog up that paint, which makes it a long even?ing,? coach Nathan Hiebert said. ?We had good shots, we just didn?t hit them. To beat a good team, we have to hit them.?

Meanwhile, Hesston shot 43 percent (16-37) from the floor. Caylee Richard?son, a talented 6-footer, led the Swathers with 12 points. Six players each contributed at least five points.

?We talked about the key of the game would be who wins in the paint,? Hiebert said. ?Unfortunately, we were on the losing end of that. We couldn?t keep them out of the paint, and we didn?t do a good job of getting in the paint.?

Smoky Valley?Coming off a win over state-ranked Sterling the night before in a snow-delayed contest, Hillsboro showed no signs of a letdown Tuesday as the Trojans dominated the Vikings, 55-30.

Smoky Valley, which dropped to 4-11 for the season, stayed with the Trojans (12-4) for most of one quarter. A three-pointer by Han?nah McBride with 12 seconds left in the first quarter pulled the Vikings to within 10-7 as the quarter ended.

That?s more or less where the game ended, too. The Trojans reeled off a 15-2 second quarter, forcing eight turnovers and limiting the Vikings to 1-for-8 shooting.

On the other end, Tara Proffitt came off the Trojan bench to ignite the offense with two three-point baskets within the first 1:30 of the period. By halftime, Hills?boro led 25-9.

When Smoky Valley scored its first points of the second half, Hillsboro was already leading 37-9 with 4:44 left in the third quarter. Hills??boro first hit the 30-point spread about a minute later at 41-11 after Danae Bina scored back-to-back baskets within 24 seconds. By the end of the period the Trojans led 46-19.

The running clock kicked in at the 6:09 mark of the fourth quarter when Allison Weber scored in the paint for a 50-19 Hillsboro lead.

Lackey led the Trojans with 17 points, Bina added 12 and Alex Ratzlaff 11. As a team the Trojans shot just over 51 percent from the floor (22-43).

?I thought we did a good job early on,? coach Nathan Hiebert said. ?We were going to press a little more than we did, but our halfcourt defense was the key. I was really pleased with our team defense.?

Coming?The Trojans were scheduled to play at Halstead (4-13) Tuesday, then will host Haven (9-7) on Friday. Hillsboro will wrap up the regular season Feb. 25 when Kingman (7-9) comes to town.

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