Lady Indians unable to keep first-half momentum; fall to Blue Lions
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
WASHINGTON C.H. — For two quarters, the vast improvement of the Hillsboro Lady Indians was on display at Washington Senior High School, Saturday night. HHS trailed by just two points after 16 minutes, but the Washington Lady Blue Lions controlled the second half, defending their home court with a 54-37 South Central Ohio League win.
HHS was led in scoring by senior Jenni Willey with 19 points, tied for the game-high in scoring with Washington's Courtney Merritt.
"Jenni did a nice job, hit the boards hard, got some stick-backs there. She plays hard and will get some good numbers as long as she continues to work like she does," HHS head coach JR Moberly said. "She is a big part of what we do offensively."
After two quarters, the Lady Indians (0-3, 0-4) trailed 27-25, scoring 10 points in the opening quarter, with the Lady Blue Lions scoring 15.
Willey began the scoring with the game's first points, followed with Maggie Tamborski making a jumper, giving HHS a 4-0 lead.
Washington answered with points from Loren Knisley, Jessica Guyett and Maggie McDonald for a 6-4 lead. Willey tied the score at six, but a 3-pointer by Merritt put the Lady Blue Lions up 9-6, which began a 7-0 run for a 13-6 advantage, with 1:50 left in the opening frame.
Willey scored the final four HHS points, finishing the quarter with eight points.
It was Willey, again, who kept HHS score close to the Lady Blue Lions by starting the second frame with a jumper, cutting the Washington lead to three. After three points by the Lady Blue Lions, Willey made it a four-point game, connecting with a jumper near the 5:14 mark of the quarter.
Over a minute later, Willey and A.J. Sanders made consecutive put back baskets, cutting the Washington advantage to 20-18. Willey finished the first half with 14 points.
After the Lady Blue Lions came back with free throws by Cori Greer, Hillsboro's Danielle Gillman tied the game at 22 with free throws and a two-point basket inside the paint, leaving 1:56 left in the first half. Gillman's basket came off a turnover by Washington, when she picked up the basketball, making the two points while being fouled. Gillman finished with six points, second-most for HHS.
Taylor Moberly offset some of the late scoring by Washington with a 3-pointer with just nine seconds left in the first half. Moberly's 3-pointer answered a 3-point shot by Knisley with 28 seconds left in the same quarter.
Trailing 27-25 after two quarters, Hillsboro didn't produce in the final two quarters like Washington. The Lady Blue Lions led by 10 points after the third at 41-31.
In the quarter, the Lady Indians had trouble getting the ball inbounds, with the Lady Lions using their defense to their advantage, forcing multiple turnovers, which they (Washington) took full advantage of.
"(In the second half) we tried to force it to Jenni, but I didn't make the right adjustments to take advantage of what they (Washington) were trying to do. We tried to make some adjustments but didn't execute them. Taking the ball out of Jenni's hands was a good move by them."
Merritt started the third with four straight points, but Willey sank a turn-around jumper, bringing HHS within four of tying the score. Washington answered with a 6-0 run, finishing the quarter on a 10-4 run with points from Merritt, McDonald and Guyett. Guyett finished with 12 points, going 4-of-4 from the free-throw line.
In the final quarter, Tamborski got a steal to start the quarter, with Sanders scoring on the put back opportunity.
But the Lady Blue Lions wouldn't allow HHS to get near their lead, keeping HHS at bay for the remainder of the SCOL game.
In the middle stages of the fourth, Washington had a 7-0 run, leading to a 11-3 run in the final 5:36 of the fourth.
"It was a case where we ran out of gas, and I have to do more to condition my kids. We still have a ways to go there," Moberly said. "Washington is a good basketball team. I felt if we played well, we had a chance to stay close … this is the second game in a row we weren't able to close it out.
"We are happy about the steps we've taken, but we aren't satisfied by the results."
HHS finished with 29 turnovers, with Washington having 23. The Lady Blue Lions also out-rebounded HHS, 29-24.
The Lady Indians fall to 0-4 with the loss, 0-3 in the SCOL. Washington improves to 1-1 in the SCOL, 3-2 overall.
HHS will play again on Friday, Dec. 17 at Miami Trace.[[In-content Ad]]
HHS was led in scoring by senior Jenni Willey with 19 points, tied for the game-high in scoring with Washington's Courtney Merritt.
"Jenni did a nice job, hit the boards hard, got some stick-backs there. She plays hard and will get some good numbers as long as she continues to work like she does," HHS head coach JR Moberly said. "She is a big part of what we do offensively."
After two quarters, the Lady Indians (0-3, 0-4) trailed 27-25, scoring 10 points in the opening quarter, with the Lady Blue Lions scoring 15.
Willey began the scoring with the game's first points, followed with Maggie Tamborski making a jumper, giving HHS a 4-0 lead.
Washington answered with points from Loren Knisley, Jessica Guyett and Maggie McDonald for a 6-4 lead. Willey tied the score at six, but a 3-pointer by Merritt put the Lady Blue Lions up 9-6, which began a 7-0 run for a 13-6 advantage, with 1:50 left in the opening frame.
Willey scored the final four HHS points, finishing the quarter with eight points.
It was Willey, again, who kept HHS score close to the Lady Blue Lions by starting the second frame with a jumper, cutting the Washington lead to three. After three points by the Lady Blue Lions, Willey made it a four-point game, connecting with a jumper near the 5:14 mark of the quarter.
Over a minute later, Willey and A.J. Sanders made consecutive put back baskets, cutting the Washington advantage to 20-18. Willey finished the first half with 14 points.
After the Lady Blue Lions came back with free throws by Cori Greer, Hillsboro's Danielle Gillman tied the game at 22 with free throws and a two-point basket inside the paint, leaving 1:56 left in the first half. Gillman's basket came off a turnover by Washington, when she picked up the basketball, making the two points while being fouled. Gillman finished with six points, second-most for HHS.
Taylor Moberly offset some of the late scoring by Washington with a 3-pointer with just nine seconds left in the first half. Moberly's 3-pointer answered a 3-point shot by Knisley with 28 seconds left in the same quarter.
Trailing 27-25 after two quarters, Hillsboro didn't produce in the final two quarters like Washington. The Lady Blue Lions led by 10 points after the third at 41-31.
In the quarter, the Lady Indians had trouble getting the ball inbounds, with the Lady Lions using their defense to their advantage, forcing multiple turnovers, which they (Washington) took full advantage of.
"(In the second half) we tried to force it to Jenni, but I didn't make the right adjustments to take advantage of what they (Washington) were trying to do. We tried to make some adjustments but didn't execute them. Taking the ball out of Jenni's hands was a good move by them."
Merritt started the third with four straight points, but Willey sank a turn-around jumper, bringing HHS within four of tying the score. Washington answered with a 6-0 run, finishing the quarter on a 10-4 run with points from Merritt, McDonald and Guyett. Guyett finished with 12 points, going 4-of-4 from the free-throw line.
In the final quarter, Tamborski got a steal to start the quarter, with Sanders scoring on the put back opportunity.
But the Lady Blue Lions wouldn't allow HHS to get near their lead, keeping HHS at bay for the remainder of the SCOL game.
In the middle stages of the fourth, Washington had a 7-0 run, leading to a 11-3 run in the final 5:36 of the fourth.
"It was a case where we ran out of gas, and I have to do more to condition my kids. We still have a ways to go there," Moberly said. "Washington is a good basketball team. I felt if we played well, we had a chance to stay close … this is the second game in a row we weren't able to close it out.
"We are happy about the steps we've taken, but we aren't satisfied by the results."
HHS finished with 29 turnovers, with Washington having 23. The Lady Blue Lions also out-rebounded HHS, 29-24.
The Lady Indians fall to 0-4 with the loss, 0-3 in the SCOL. Washington improves to 1-1 in the SCOL, 3-2 overall.
HHS will play again on Friday, Dec. 17 at Miami Trace.[[In-content Ad]]