HHS girls struggle for offense

HHSgbbHumberDefensePC051092.jpg
HHSgbbHumberDefensePC051092.jpg

Hillsboro?s Abi Humber (10) hustles to try to stop the full-court drive of Collegiate?s Sadie Clark during the second half of Friday?s game. Clark scored four points in the win.

The Hillsboro girls battled No. 1 ranked Wichita Collegiate pretty well on the defensive end of the floor in their Friday night opener at Brown Gymnasium.

Now if they can find more ways to score.

Beyond the contributions of all-league post player Dakota Kaufman, the Trojans struggled to put points on the board against the aggressive Spartan defense in a 46-28 loss.

?It?s a tough team to open against, but the thing I like is that it allows us to understand the level that we have to play at,? coach Nathan Hiebert said.

Kaufman poured in 16 points for Hillsboro, including 11 in the second half. No other Trojan scored more than two points.

Of course, Collegiate could tell a similar story. The Spartans got 29 points from their standout sophomore, Ashia Woods. No other player scored more than four.

?When that happens, we need to do a better job on that,? Hiebert said about Woods? dominance. ?She?s good in the half court?she?s quick, she has good hand-eye coordination so she gets some steals and some easy buckets.?

A basket by Kaufman at the 5:54 mark was the only score Hillsboro could muster in the opening period as Collegiate established a 12-2 advantage.

With Woods scoring eight of Collegiate?s 10 points in the second period, the Spartans were in control by halftime at 22-8.

Collegiate continued to build its lead in the third quarter. Kaufman scored a basket 27 seconds in, but over the next 6:30 the Trojans turned the ball over seven times and managed only five shots. Kaufman made the only shot that went in, leaving the Trojans with a 35-12 deficit.

A free throw by Abi Humber, a bucket by Kauf?man and a score by Cassie Kroeker at the buzzer narrowed the margin to 37-17 at the final break.

As a team, the Trojans made nine of 25 shots from the floor (36 percent) while Collegiate made 20 of 42 (48 percent). The Spartans shot better from the line as well, making five of 10 while HHS cashed in only seven of 21 opportunities.

?We had some open looks and some decent shots that I thought we just kind of rushed,? Hiebert said. ?I?ll give that to Collegiate?s defense. They intend to speed you up. Even when you get in the halfcourt you?re still operating at that high pace so that you rush your shots.?

Hiebert liked the defensive effort his team invested.

?When we got them into the halfcourt, I was very, very pleased,? he said. ?We held them to 46 points. That?s pretty good.?

Hillsboro committed 21 turnovers against Collegiate?s pressure, but Hiebert felt his team showed improvement from a year ago.

?We talked about the pressure and that it was going to keep coming,? he said. ?We took four timeouts and talked about the press break on all four. We?re going to continue to practice that until it becomes easy.?

Coming?Hillsboro will compete in the Cheney Cardinal Classic this week. The Trojans were to open pool play Tuesday at home against Smoky Valley. They will will play at Cheney against the host team Friday night.

Saturday?s concluding game will be determined by the outcome of pool play. Competing in the other pool are Winfield, Chapparal and Clearwater.

Hillsboro will close out its pre-holiday schedule with a game at Sterling.

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