It wasn?t the kind of opponent a team looking for confidence would choose to play in the pre-holiday finale.
Unbeaten Remington, holding the edge in height, athleticism and varsity experience, defeated the visiting Hills?boro girls, 51-20, Friday.
From the outset, the Trojans (1-4) struggled to find a consistent source of offense.
Alex Ratzlaff, Hillsboro?s primary scorer, put her team on the board with a basket at the 5:14 mark of the opening quarter. The Trojans didn?t make another field goal until Ratzlaff scored at the 4:38 mark of the second quarter. By then, Remington enjoyed a 16-3 lead.
By halftime the score was 23-8, with Hillsboro managing three field goals?including a three-pointer by Mesa Merrell?in 22 attempts.
Remington pushed the lead to 38-17 late in the third quarter before Ratzlaff completed a traditional three-point play with 2.6 seconds left in the period. The Broncos? biggest lead of the night was 51-26 with three minutes left in the game.
Ratzlaff scored 13 points to lead the Trojans, who finished with 21 percent shooting success from the floor (21-55). Remington, meanwhile, shot 38 percent and was led by Kelcey Hinx with 20 points and Kristyn Wedel with 14.
?They were big, they were more physical, they got (18) offensive rebounds,? coach Nathan Hiebert said of the Broncos. ?If we take away four or five of their offensive rebounds, and make three or four layups that we had opportunities to make, all of a sudden instead of a 21-point game, we?re in a battle.?
Heading into the holiday break, Hiebert said he wants his team to know that it is doing some things well on the court.
?But there?s a lot we have to get better on,? he added. ?Our focus is, every day we?ve got to get better. Every repetition, every drill, has to be done with a purpose. We can?t go through the motions. If we do, we?ll stay where we?re at.?
He said the Trojans? 1-4 record is somewhat misleading.
?We had a couple of games in the Moundridge tournament that I really felt like we should have won,? Hiebert said. ?Several teams right after the break are good opportunities for us to get some wins and get some confidence.
?I think right now that?s what we?re lacking.?
