Hillsboro Lady Indians earn win over McClain
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
GREENFIELD – Saturday was special for the Hillsboro Lady Indians basketball program, as it was the first time in 17 seasons they earned a win over their Highland County rival McClain, winning in Greenfield over the Lady Tigers by a 41-37 score.
HHS has had their struggles against McClain for nearly two decades, as the Lady Tigers had won every meeting against Hillsboro since the second meeting of the 2004-05 season, but on Saturday at McClain Gym, the Lady Indians snapped that streak of 34 consecutive losses to MHS by starting off the Frontier Athletic Conference game with a strong 5-0 lead, and eventually leading by 15 points in the opening frame for a 16-1 advantage with 1:21 left in the first quarter.
“This week we really put a big emphasis on our defense, and a lot of our younger players really helped us get ready and prepare for this team. We just really got after defensively, and I told the girls that’s where this game is going to be won on the defensive end,” HHS head coach Chad Fields said. “The half-court pressure we put on them, we really believe in that, and we work on that a lot.
“Getting the lead was huge, and we really wanted to get off to a fast start. We really haven’t got off to a fast start this year, and when we got off to that big start it was huge for us, the energy changed for us, and the girls believed at that point they could win. Today was a huge step for us.”
The Lady Indians struck first with a free throw by Blake Herdman, followed with a steal and layup by Gracie Dean. HHS added two more points with by Rylie Scott as she connected from the free-throw line. Herdman and Dean finished leading HHS in scoring with 12 points each.
MHS reached the scoreboard with a free-throw conversion by Evelyn Vanzant around the 5:30 mark of the quarter, only to see Brynn Bledsoe of HHS add two points with a basket on a layup opportunity. Bledsoe finished with 10 points in the game for the Lady Indians.
Following a McClain timeout, Bledsoe repeated the feat, and Herdman knocked down a 3-pointer from the corner for an 11-point lead at the 3:59 mark of the first.
HHS wasn’t finished as Bledsoe scored two points on a fast break, and Dean sank two shots from the free-throw line after being fouled for a 16-1 lead with 1:21 left in the opening frame.
“I told them we’re going to have to figure out something else to start the game,” McClain head coach Jarrod Haines said. “Our first quarters have not been very good, but you can either quit or you can keep fighting, and we kept fighting. I thought we figured some things out and handled the pressure a lot better in the second half.
“You can’t dig a hole that deep, that’s for sure. They played extremely hard, super athletic on top, and we just can’t be careless with the basket.”
MHS ended the first quarter with a layup by Haylee Havens, and a free throw make from Vanzant for the 16-6 score after one frame. Havens ended the game with a team-best 13 points. Vanzant totaled nine points for McClain.
Hillsboro in the second quarter led by as many as 14 points with 1:29 left in the second following a free-throw by Dean and held a 27-16 advantage at halftime over the Lady Tigers.
MHS in the second totaled 10 points with two free throws by Iva Easter, five points by Havens and three points scored by Lily Barnes, who finished the game with six points.
Hillsboro in the second frame had a 3-pointer from Herdman. Dean made one free throw in the second, Mya Bell was 5-of-6 from the charity stripe in the quarter and Bledsoe was 2-of-2 in her free-throw attempts in the second as HHS outscored McClain 11-10 in the frame.
McClain chipped the Hillsboro lead down to seven points on two occasions in the third, as the frame started with Payton Pryor scoring two points on a put-back basket. MHS teammate Madi Sykes followed with two made free throws for a 27-20 deficit with 7:07 on the clock.
HHS answered with a 3-pointer by Dean at the 4:42 mark of the third, but Vanzant came back strong for McClain with 4:10 on the scoreboard. No team scored again until there was 1:48 remaining on the clock, as Easter sank a free throw. HHS ended the third with two made free throws by Dean for a 32-23 lead.
McClain made things interesting in the fourth when they cut down the Lady Indians’ lead to three points with 2:49 left in regulation, but HHS increased their lead back to as many as six points to seal what became a four-point win for the visiting Lady Indians.
“We are playing some young girls right now,” Fields said. “Peighton Bledsoe, Blake Herdman is a freshman, Rylie Scott is a sophomore, and today was huge step for them in maturing and I felt they did a fantastic job. Sinai Roberts came back this week after missing two games, and in the minutes she played she did outstanding for us defensively, and that’s her strong point.
“Gracie Dean, she’s our workhorse, and this is a big win for the entire team, and I couldn’t be more proud of them. Our girls don’t know what it is like to win a varsity basketball game against McClain, and they are a well-coached team and they are always well-prepared, and this is a big win.”
MHS outscored Hillsboro 14-9 in the final frame with McClain having six points from Havens, three points each from Vanzant and Barnes and two points by Kaitlyn Jett.
McClain fell to Adena Monday night by a 57-48 score. They are next scheduled to host Piketon Wednesday night (Dec. 22). Hillsboro is also home Dec. 22, as they will face Paint Valley.
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HHS has had their struggles against McClain for nearly two decades, as the Lady Tigers had won every meeting against Hillsboro since the second meeting of the 2004-05 season, but on Saturday at McClain Gym, the Lady Indians snapped that streak of 34 consecutive losses to MHS by starting off the Frontier Athletic Conference game with a strong 5-0 lead, and eventually leading by 15 points in the opening frame for a 16-1 advantage with 1:21 left in the first quarter.
“This week we really put a big emphasis on our defense, and a lot of our younger players really helped us get ready and prepare for this team. We just really got after defensively, and I told the girls that’s where this game is going to be won on the defensive end,” HHS head coach Chad Fields said. “The half-court pressure we put on them, we really believe in that, and we work on that a lot.
“Getting the lead was huge, and we really wanted to get off to a fast start. We really haven’t got off to a fast start this year, and when we got off to that big start it was huge for us, the energy changed for us, and the girls believed at that point they could win. Today was a huge step for us.”
The Lady Indians struck first with a free throw by Blake Herdman, followed with a steal and layup by Gracie Dean. HHS added two more points with by Rylie Scott as she connected from the free-throw line. Herdman and Dean finished leading HHS in scoring with 12 points each.
MHS reached the scoreboard with a free-throw conversion by Evelyn Vanzant around the 5:30 mark of the quarter, only to see Brynn Bledsoe of HHS add two points with a basket on a layup opportunity. Bledsoe finished with 10 points in the game for the Lady Indians.
Following a McClain timeout, Bledsoe repeated the feat, and Herdman knocked down a 3-pointer from the corner for an 11-point lead at the 3:59 mark of the first.
HHS wasn’t finished as Bledsoe scored two points on a fast break, and Dean sank two shots from the free-throw line after being fouled for a 16-1 lead with 1:21 left in the opening frame.
“I told them we’re going to have to figure out something else to start the game,” McClain head coach Jarrod Haines said. “Our first quarters have not been very good, but you can either quit or you can keep fighting, and we kept fighting. I thought we figured some things out and handled the pressure a lot better in the second half.
“You can’t dig a hole that deep, that’s for sure. They played extremely hard, super athletic on top, and we just can’t be careless with the basket.”
MHS ended the first quarter with a layup by Haylee Havens, and a free throw make from Vanzant for the 16-6 score after one frame. Havens ended the game with a team-best 13 points. Vanzant totaled nine points for McClain.
Hillsboro in the second quarter led by as many as 14 points with 1:29 left in the second following a free-throw by Dean and held a 27-16 advantage at halftime over the Lady Tigers.
MHS in the second totaled 10 points with two free throws by Iva Easter, five points by Havens and three points scored by Lily Barnes, who finished the game with six points.
Hillsboro in the second frame had a 3-pointer from Herdman. Dean made one free throw in the second, Mya Bell was 5-of-6 from the charity stripe in the quarter and Bledsoe was 2-of-2 in her free-throw attempts in the second as HHS outscored McClain 11-10 in the frame.
McClain chipped the Hillsboro lead down to seven points on two occasions in the third, as the frame started with Payton Pryor scoring two points on a put-back basket. MHS teammate Madi Sykes followed with two made free throws for a 27-20 deficit with 7:07 on the clock.
HHS answered with a 3-pointer by Dean at the 4:42 mark of the third, but Vanzant came back strong for McClain with 4:10 on the scoreboard. No team scored again until there was 1:48 remaining on the clock, as Easter sank a free throw. HHS ended the third with two made free throws by Dean for a 32-23 lead.
McClain made things interesting in the fourth when they cut down the Lady Indians’ lead to three points with 2:49 left in regulation, but HHS increased their lead back to as many as six points to seal what became a four-point win for the visiting Lady Indians.
“We are playing some young girls right now,” Fields said. “Peighton Bledsoe, Blake Herdman is a freshman, Rylie Scott is a sophomore, and today was huge step for them in maturing and I felt they did a fantastic job. Sinai Roberts came back this week after missing two games, and in the minutes she played she did outstanding for us defensively, and that’s her strong point.
“Gracie Dean, she’s our workhorse, and this is a big win for the entire team, and I couldn’t be more proud of them. Our girls don’t know what it is like to win a varsity basketball game against McClain, and they are a well-coached team and they are always well-prepared, and this is a big win.”
MHS outscored Hillsboro 14-9 in the final frame with McClain having six points from Havens, three points each from Vanzant and Barnes and two points by Kaitlyn Jett.
McClain fell to Adena Monday night by a 57-48 score. They are next scheduled to host Piketon Wednesday night (Dec. 22). Hillsboro is also home Dec. 22, as they will face Paint Valley.
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