During a rebuilding year it is always good to get two big league wins, and that is just what the Hillsboro Girls Basketball team did last week. They beat Hoisington, 43-31, and Lyons, 58-38, during last week’s games.
It was a strong defensive effort against Hoisington that propelled Hillsboro to victory. The Trojans held Hoisington to just four points in the first quarter and built a 13-4 lead. Despite a good second quarter by Hoisington the clamps got put back on and Hillsboro held Hoisington to a combined 12 points in the second half to secure the win.
“Our girls did a fantastic job in the first quarter. We had talked about doing a better job starting our game off with energy and purpose,” Head Coach Nathan Hiebert said. “We attacked the basket, got several people involved and got out to a fast start. Our second quarter was our only poor quarter, we turned it over more and settled for mediocre shots. Thankfully we came out after halftime and had another great third and fourth quarters.”
Jessica Saunders came back from a knee injury and had a great game for Hillsboro with 12 points and 13 rebounds on the game. Teegan Werth chipped in 11 points, four assists, and four rebounds for the game as well.
“She (Saunders) was a huge inside presence and was a huge spark for our team. Kinsey (Kleiner – seven points, three rebounds) and Teegan once again brought their scoring presence. They have been fairly consistent on scoring for our team,” Hiebert said.
Against Lyons the scoring was outstanding for the Trojans. Hillsboro scored 32 points in the first half and had a 32-22 lead at half. They kept the engine going in the second half and cruised to a victory.
“The girls played a great game on Friday. We won all four quarters which was fantastic. We have had games that we play well for three but really struggle in one period and this game felt like the girls played solid all game long,” Hiebert said. “We had nine different girls score which was great. Teegan and Kinsey led the way for us again. We had several fast break points and really limited our turnovers.”
Werth led the team with 17 points and six rebounds while Kleiner had 15 points and six rebounds for the game.
Coming – The girls played Nickerson at home on Tuesday. Next up is Sub-State starting on Tuesday, Feb. 25. in Marion. The brackets aren’t avaliable as of press time, but the following schools are in the sub-state tournament: Allen-Northern Heights, Eskridge-Mission Valley, Goessel, Herington, Marion, Rossville, and Wabaunsee.
