Jackson’s 4th-quarter rally sends Hillsboro to FAC loss

HILLSBORO — Though the Hillsboro Lady Indians played a stellar first half, including a 9-0 run to start the game Wednesday night, the Jackson Ironladies battled back and had a fourth-quarter rally in the final four minutes that sent them past Hillsboro in their Frontier Athletic Conference game, with Hillsboro falling 44-35.

Hillsboro led 15-11 at the conclusion of the first quarter, and after both teams each scored four points in the second frame, it was HHS leading on their home court, 19-15.

“We went into the half up four and had a 9-0 run on Jackson to start,” Hillsboro head coach Heather Storer said. “Of course we know they're going to start hitting shots eventually, but that you can come out and punch a team like that early, that's huge, especially for your mojo for the rest of the game.

“That's yet another good team. We've played quite a few good teams early here, and we've come out and battled every single night, and the kids don't quit. I applaud that every single night, and their effort is exciting as a coach. That's one thing that a lot of coaches beg for is effort, and these girls come out and they keep battling and keep contending. I think we have to do a little bit better job of executing when it matters.”

Blake Herdman stood out for Hillsboro in the opening quarter as the sophomore made two 3-pointers and she was 2-of-2 from the free-throw line in the first frame. Herdman totaled 14 points and 15 rebounds for a double-double for Hillsboro. 

“For Blake to have 15 rebounds, I don't know that you can ask for anything else from her, getting in there and battling every single time,” Storer said. “We knew coming into this game if we didn't win the rebounding game that we weren't going to win the basketball game, and I don't know what the final total was, but I'd say we were darn close to winning the rebounding game, and a big part of that was Blake tonight.”

Kyra Boyd also made a 3-pointer in the first quarter of play, while teammates and sisters Addyson Miles and Kobie Miles each scored two points in the first quarter. Boyd totaled nine points for HHS, and Kobie Miles scored six points in the loss.

The four-point second quarter saw Kobie Miles make two free throws on two chances, and Herdman also scored two points in the quarter.

HHS and Jackson battled in the third frame, with Hillsboro leading by a point with 22-21, regaining the lead off two made free throws by Rylie Scott with 5:29 on the third quarter clock. Hillsboro took a four-point lead with a three-point play from Herdman at the 5:04 mark of the third.

Jackson didn’t trail for long as the Ironladies scored the next 11 points from the 3:45 mark to the 1:28 mark for a lead of seven points at 32-25. HHS ended the second with a jumper by Tylee Davis for a 32-27 score with Jackson out in front.

Hillsboro trailed by five points to start the fourth quarter, but from the 7:21 mark to the 4:46 mark of the final frame Hillsboro scored eight of the next 10 points, taking a one-point lead with 4:46 left in the game by a 35-34 score.

But the lead disappeared when Jackson regained the lead with a basket by Kenzie Davis with 4:14. From that point to the final buzzer, the Lady Indians were outscored 9-1, with JHS sealing the win.

Other HHS final scoring included Davis, Addyson Miles and Scott each scoring two points.

Jackson was led in scoring by TJ Carpenter with 18 points and Mattie Walburn with 13 points.

Also for Jackson, final scoring numbers included: Sydney Carpenter (4), Davis (4), Lillian Mapes (3) and Sydney Hughes (2).

At the free-throw line, JHS was 8-of-15, while Hillsboro went 8-of-11.

The loss sends HHS to a FAC record of 1-3 with an overall record of 2-6. JHS moves to 3-0 in the FAC and 6-0 overall.

Next for Hillsboro is a non-conference game on Saturday, Dec. 16 at East Clinton with a 12:30 p.m. start.

“We have three more games before Christmas,” Storer said. “Every game every night is winnable for us, and we need to come in and just settle down, work hard, compete, be ready to execute, play hard and play how we want to play on both ends and floor, control the tempo, which I thought we did really well tonight. I thought we controlled exactly what we wanted to control. We slowed Jackson down. They average 60 points a game, and we held them to 44.”

Jackson is scheduled to play again Thursday, Dec. 21 at home vs. Fairfield Union in a non-conference game.

BOX SCORE
JHS    11 04 17 12 — 44
HHS    15 04 08 08 — 35

JACKSON — S.Carpenter 2 (0) 0-0 4, T.Carpenter 6 (0) 6-10 18, M.Walburn 6 (0) 1-3 13, L.Mapes 1 (0) 1-2 3, S.Hughes 1 (0) 0-0 2, K.Davis 2 (0) 0-0 4. TOTALS: 18 (0) 8-15 44.

HILLSBORO — K.Miles 2 (0) 2-2 6, R.Scott 0 (0) 2-2 2, T.Davis 1 (0) 0-0 2, A.Miles 1 (0) 0-0 2, K.Boyd 3 (1) 0-2 9, B.Herdman 2 (2) 4-5 14. TOTALS: 9 (3) 8-11 35.