Late points give Lady Indians 1st win of season
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
HILLSBORO — The Hillsboro Lady Indians put four quarters together, taking the game down to the final seconds. One layup by senior Jenni Willey put HHS in the lead for good, defeating Highland County rival Whiteoak for their first win of the season, 47-45 Saturday afternoon at Hillsboro High School.
The non-league game was close for most of the 32 minutes of court time, with the largest lead being nine points by the Lady Indians with 1:14 left in the third quarter.
Whiteoak entered the contest by gaining their first win of the year recently, defeating another Highland County foe, Fairfield, by a score of 57-39 on Monday, Jan. 3 at WHS.
Saturday, though, it was time for the Lady Indians to accomplish the same feat as the Lady 'Cats, but it a was a see-saw affair in the final eight minutes with the lead exchanging hands of both teams.
But it wasn't just the scoring that gave Hillsboro the overall advantage, it was their rebounding, while capitalizing on their second and even third chance opportunities.
"I thought we did a good job on defense," HHS head coach JR Moberly said. "We didn't give up a lot of transition points."
In the first half, HHS had 16 offensive rebounds, and between just four players had 45 rebounds. Carey Juillerat had 11 rebounds, while A.J. Sanders and Willey each had 12 boards. Danielle Gillman had nine rebounds.
"They hurt us on the boards. We didn't box out, and they (HHS) did a much better job of going to the boards, rebounding, and they controlled it on both ends." WHS head coach Mike Cooper said. "To me, that's where they beat us (Saturday). They got a lot of their points on the inside."
Moberly also talked about the Lady Indians' rebounding.
"In the first half, we had so many rebounds," he said. "Our kids kept going and going, but just couldn't put it in the basket. We got a lot of second and third opportunities."
The fourth quarter started off with Juillerat and Willey increasing the HHS lead by five points with just under 7:00 left in regulation. Juillerat finished with 11 points. Willey was tied with a game-high 17 points. Also scoring 17 points was Whiteoak's Jessie Gilliland.
After a steal by Whitoak's Lizz Carson, she found an open Lori Bratton, who was fouled in the paint. Bratton went 1-of-2 from the free-throw line, cutting the HHS lead to 36-33.
HHS and WHS each countered one another with points, with HHS keeping a four-point advantage at 44-40, leaving 1:27 remaining.
Haley Bingamon, who scored 12 points, kept the Lady 'Cats' hopes alive with a clutch 3-pointer seven seconds after HHS increased their lead to the aforementioned four points.
HHS answered with a free throw from Juillerat, but WHS continued to keep the contest close, this time tying the game at 45 with a jumper by Gilliland, leaving 29.3 on the scoreboard.
After over 20 seconds ticked off the clock, Sanders found an open Willey near the hoop, with the senior converting the basket for the two-point lead.
HHS left 2.5 seconds on the clock, but an inbounds pass to the half-court line was intercepted by Sanders to seal the win.
"We are so close. We've been close in quite a few games for three quarters. It seems like we play well enough not to win," Cooper said. "There are times when we do the little things wrong, and we are just not where we need to be. We have to work putting players in the right positions, and making sure they get the job done."
Cooper did like the way his team didn't give up.
"I liked the way we battled back," he said "We could have quit … we didn't, again we stayed right with it. We had opportunities, missed a wide-open layup with a minute to go, and missed our share of free throws."
In their free-throw shooting WHS was 8-of-15, while HHS was 12-of-30.
As the fourth quarter proved to be the most exciting in terms of the game being on the line, both teams did keep the county matchup close for the first three quarters. WHS led 11-10 after the first quarter, HHS led at halftime 22-18. After three quarters, HHS had a two-point lead at 33-31.
In the early stages of the first, Bingamon increased the WHS lead to 6-2 with a 3-pointer, but HHS answered with three points, cutting the WHS lead to one point. In their span of scoring the three points, HHS was 1-of-7 from the free-throw line.
HHS took their first lead of the game with a jumper from Willey with 1:30 left in the quarter. WHS then capitalized on a turnover by the Lady Indians with a 3-pointer from Bingamon, giving WHS a 9-7 lead with 1:00 remaining.
The lead didn't last long once Taylor Moberly sank a 3-pointer with 45 seconds remaining in the first, putting HHS back in front at 10-9. Gilliland scored the final points of the first with a layup.
In the second quarter, Bratton sank two free throws with WHS leading by three points, but HHS later cut the lead to one point (16-15) with a jumper from Gillman. Before Gillman's jumper, Whiteoak's Marissa Bohl made a free throw.
Sanders put the Lady Indians in the lead with five straight points by converting two free throws, followed with a three-point play with 3:35 left in the first half.
Late in the second, Maggie Tamborski added two points to the HHS lead.
In the third, HHS built a nine-point lead with baskets by Willey, Juillerat, Sanders and Whitney Earley.
With 39 seconds left in the third, McKenzee Martin sank a 3-pointer.
"All year long I've been so pleased with the the girls' effort," Moberly said. "They've never quit, regardless of the score, and they just keep battling and trying to score. Regardless of the score, the kids have battled all year long. I'm pleased with their character, and how they don't quit says a lot about their character."
Both teams now have one win with WHS standing at 1-10 overall and HHS at 1-7 on the season.
HHS will play again on Tuesday, Jan. 11 as they host Clinton-Massie in South Central Ohio League play. WHS will travel to West Union on Thursday, Jan. 13.
GAME NOTES: Last season WHS defeated HHS 49-40 at WHS … Brooke Burns (WHS) took a charge with 0.7 left in second quarter … No lead was bigger than four points after any quarter … The game was tied just once at 45 with 29.3 left in regulation … Gilliland scored 10 of her 17 points in second half … Bingamon made four 3-pointers … Willey was 7-of-12 from the free-throw line, making all five attempted in the second quarter … HHS scored in double figures each quarter … Ashley Crone was 2-of-2 from the free-throw line for WHS.[[In-content Ad]]
The non-league game was close for most of the 32 minutes of court time, with the largest lead being nine points by the Lady Indians with 1:14 left in the third quarter.
Whiteoak entered the contest by gaining their first win of the year recently, defeating another Highland County foe, Fairfield, by a score of 57-39 on Monday, Jan. 3 at WHS.
Saturday, though, it was time for the Lady Indians to accomplish the same feat as the Lady 'Cats, but it a was a see-saw affair in the final eight minutes with the lead exchanging hands of both teams.
But it wasn't just the scoring that gave Hillsboro the overall advantage, it was their rebounding, while capitalizing on their second and even third chance opportunities.
"I thought we did a good job on defense," HHS head coach JR Moberly said. "We didn't give up a lot of transition points."
In the first half, HHS had 16 offensive rebounds, and between just four players had 45 rebounds. Carey Juillerat had 11 rebounds, while A.J. Sanders and Willey each had 12 boards. Danielle Gillman had nine rebounds.
"They hurt us on the boards. We didn't box out, and they (HHS) did a much better job of going to the boards, rebounding, and they controlled it on both ends." WHS head coach Mike Cooper said. "To me, that's where they beat us (Saturday). They got a lot of their points on the inside."
Moberly also talked about the Lady Indians' rebounding.
"In the first half, we had so many rebounds," he said. "Our kids kept going and going, but just couldn't put it in the basket. We got a lot of second and third opportunities."
The fourth quarter started off with Juillerat and Willey increasing the HHS lead by five points with just under 7:00 left in regulation. Juillerat finished with 11 points. Willey was tied with a game-high 17 points. Also scoring 17 points was Whiteoak's Jessie Gilliland.
After a steal by Whitoak's Lizz Carson, she found an open Lori Bratton, who was fouled in the paint. Bratton went 1-of-2 from the free-throw line, cutting the HHS lead to 36-33.
HHS and WHS each countered one another with points, with HHS keeping a four-point advantage at 44-40, leaving 1:27 remaining.
Haley Bingamon, who scored 12 points, kept the Lady 'Cats' hopes alive with a clutch 3-pointer seven seconds after HHS increased their lead to the aforementioned four points.
HHS answered with a free throw from Juillerat, but WHS continued to keep the contest close, this time tying the game at 45 with a jumper by Gilliland, leaving 29.3 on the scoreboard.
After over 20 seconds ticked off the clock, Sanders found an open Willey near the hoop, with the senior converting the basket for the two-point lead.
HHS left 2.5 seconds on the clock, but an inbounds pass to the half-court line was intercepted by Sanders to seal the win.
"We are so close. We've been close in quite a few games for three quarters. It seems like we play well enough not to win," Cooper said. "There are times when we do the little things wrong, and we are just not where we need to be. We have to work putting players in the right positions, and making sure they get the job done."
Cooper did like the way his team didn't give up.
"I liked the way we battled back," he said "We could have quit … we didn't, again we stayed right with it. We had opportunities, missed a wide-open layup with a minute to go, and missed our share of free throws."
In their free-throw shooting WHS was 8-of-15, while HHS was 12-of-30.
As the fourth quarter proved to be the most exciting in terms of the game being on the line, both teams did keep the county matchup close for the first three quarters. WHS led 11-10 after the first quarter, HHS led at halftime 22-18. After three quarters, HHS had a two-point lead at 33-31.
In the early stages of the first, Bingamon increased the WHS lead to 6-2 with a 3-pointer, but HHS answered with three points, cutting the WHS lead to one point. In their span of scoring the three points, HHS was 1-of-7 from the free-throw line.
HHS took their first lead of the game with a jumper from Willey with 1:30 left in the quarter. WHS then capitalized on a turnover by the Lady Indians with a 3-pointer from Bingamon, giving WHS a 9-7 lead with 1:00 remaining.
The lead didn't last long once Taylor Moberly sank a 3-pointer with 45 seconds remaining in the first, putting HHS back in front at 10-9. Gilliland scored the final points of the first with a layup.
In the second quarter, Bratton sank two free throws with WHS leading by three points, but HHS later cut the lead to one point (16-15) with a jumper from Gillman. Before Gillman's jumper, Whiteoak's Marissa Bohl made a free throw.
Sanders put the Lady Indians in the lead with five straight points by converting two free throws, followed with a three-point play with 3:35 left in the first half.
Late in the second, Maggie Tamborski added two points to the HHS lead.
In the third, HHS built a nine-point lead with baskets by Willey, Juillerat, Sanders and Whitney Earley.
With 39 seconds left in the third, McKenzee Martin sank a 3-pointer.
"All year long I've been so pleased with the the girls' effort," Moberly said. "They've never quit, regardless of the score, and they just keep battling and trying to score. Regardless of the score, the kids have battled all year long. I'm pleased with their character, and how they don't quit says a lot about their character."
Both teams now have one win with WHS standing at 1-10 overall and HHS at 1-7 on the season.
HHS will play again on Tuesday, Jan. 11 as they host Clinton-Massie in South Central Ohio League play. WHS will travel to West Union on Thursday, Jan. 13.
GAME NOTES: Last season WHS defeated HHS 49-40 at WHS … Brooke Burns (WHS) took a charge with 0.7 left in second quarter … No lead was bigger than four points after any quarter … The game was tied just once at 45 with 29.3 left in regulation … Gilliland scored 10 of her 17 points in second half … Bingamon made four 3-pointers … Willey was 7-of-12 from the free-throw line, making all five attempted in the second quarter … HHS scored in double figures each quarter … Ashley Crone was 2-of-2 from the free-throw line for WHS.[[In-content Ad]]