Hillsboro girls upset Kingman

Darcy Heinrichs prepares to score in the paint with four seconds left in the third quarter during Friday?s win against Kingman. Her basket, off a nice pass from Tara Proffitt, pulled the Trojans to within 30-29. Don Ratzlaff / Free Press

Hillsboro used a late rally to pull off a 42-41 upset of King?man Friday at Brown Gymnasium.

The Trojans, who came in at 7-9, trailed the 12-4 Eagles at halftime, 24-19. The home team came out with more intensity in the third quarter and pulled to within 30-29 by the end of it on baskets by Tara Proffitt and Darcy Heinrichs in the final 37 seconds.

Kingman was leading 36-31 when Alex Ratzlaff hit a three-point shot on the wing with 3:46 left in the game. She added a second three at the 2:57 mark and a two-point basket at 2:15 to give Hillsboro a 39-36 lead.

But with a little over a minute left in the game, Kingman battled back to take a 41-39 lead. The teams exchanged possessions a couple of times before Ratzlaff drained a three from the top of the key with 3.5 second to play to put Hillsboro ahead 42-41.

Kingman got off a final shot as time ran out, but Ratzlaff partially blocked it as the Trojans nailed down the win.

Hillsboro enjoyed a 9-6 lead in the first quarter when Rebecca Kaufman scored at the 2:03 mark, but the Eagles finished with a 5-0 run to take an 11-9 lead at the first break.

The Trojans? scoring drought continued through the second period before Ratzlaff scored on a drive to the basket that cut King?man?s lead to 16-11. That margin held until halftime, with the Eagles taking a 24-19 lead into the locker room.

?We knew we would be meeting some good teams near the end of the season these games,? coach Nathan Hiebert said. ?The thing I was most proud of, until these last couple of weeks, I don?t think that we?ve come out and fought for a win.?

A key to the win was some timely zone defense that helped limit the Eagles to 31 percent shooting (15-48) from the floor.

?They?ve shot better in the past and didn?t shoot as well tonight,? Hiebert said of the Eagles. ?I thought they rushed a little bit.?

Ratzlaff led Hillsboro with 25 points and Proffitt added nine as the Trojans improved to 8-9 for the year and 5-3 in the CKL. King?man dropped to 12-5 and 4-5.

Hoisington?Hills?boro rallied late in the game to claim a 43-39 victory Feb. 10 at Hoi?sington.

The ending was ideal, but the start may have been the ugliest of the season. The Trojans committed eight turnovers in the opening period and made only one of three shots to trail 9-3 at the first break.

More significant, the team?s primary scorer, Alex Ratzlaff, picked up her second foul a mere 2:22 into the contest, turning her into a spectator for the rest of the quarter.

Ratzlaff was back on the floor as the second quarter began, and scored her first points with a pair of free throws at the 5:14 mark. But she quickly picked up her third foul?and a return ticket to the bench?with 4:25 left in the half. In all, Ratzlaff sat out 10 minutes of the 16-minute half.

Even so, the Trojans trailed the Cardinals by only four points (18-14) at intermission, thanks to Hoising?ton?s 5-for-23 shooting.

?I told the girls at halftime I don?t know that we could play worse and be behind by only four,? coach Nathan Hiebert said. ?There?s something positive about playing horribly, but still having an opportunity to win.?

In the third quarter, Ratzlaff contributed seven of the Trojans? 11 points to close the gap to 28-25 by quarter?s end.

As the fourth quarter began, Ratzlaff scored Hills?boro?s next nine points, including a three-point basket at the 4:18 mark that gave the Trojans their first lead of the night at 33-32. Ratzlaff picked up her fourth foul shortly thereafter and returned to the bench.

Hoisington responded with a three-point basket, but senior guard Tara Proffitt matched it nine seconds later to put Hillsboro back on top. When the Cardinals scored with 3:01 to go, Proffitt hit a key shot at the 2:00 mark for a 39-37 lead.

Ratzlaff returned to the game at that point, but her scoring skills weren?t needed this time. Darcy Heinrichs hit a huge basket on an inbounds play with 58 seconds left for a 41-37 lead.

After Hoisington scored, Proffitt drew a foul with 3.8 seconds remaining, then iced the victory by hitting both ends of a one-and-one.

Ratzlaff again finished as Hills?boro?s top scorer with 18 points, but Proffitt was right behind with a career-high 14.

Coming?Hills?boro was schedule to play at Haven (9-7, 3-4) Tuesday, then will host Hesston (10-0, 7-0), the top-ranked team in Class 3A, Friday beginning at 6 p.m. The regular season ends the following Tuesday with games at home against Sterling (12-4, 5-2).

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