Third quarter, 2nd-half offensive rebounding send Hillsboro to loss against Fayetteville

MACON — If not for the third quarter where the Hillsboro Lady Indians were outscored 12-5, the non-conference game would have been just a one-point scoring differential. 

But games are four quarters, and the third frame was where the game went in a different direction for the Hillsboro Lady Indians Saturday morning at Eastern High School in their 2026 Winter Hoops Classic event against the Fayetteville Lady Rockets. 

As two of the stronger teams in the area battled on the court, the third frame saw HHS be out-rebounded and outscored, leading to the Lady Indians’ fifth loss of the season by a 57-49 score. 

“The first half I was thrilled with the effort, and the biggest thing against (Fayetteville), you have to win the rebounding game, and we knew that going in. We did a good job of that in the first half, and the second half at some point I had a coach tell me that we were outrebounded on the offensive boards 7-0, and that’s the difference in that half,” Hillsboro head coach Heather Storer said. “That’s just what it is, and I think we actually played a really good basketball game. I think we had a nice night, but the fact in the second half we let them go off on the offensive boards, and that’s our fault, and we've got to get better at that.” 

Hillsboro led after the first quarter by one point at 17-16, and after each team scored 13 points in the second frame, HHS led at halftime by a 30-29 score. 

Then came the third frame where the game unraveled some for Hillsboro as they were outscored 12-5, and it began a second half where the Lady Indians were outrebounded offensively at one point in the final two frames 7-0, leading to them trailing 41-35 after three quarters. Fayetteville led the fourth frame too, at 16-14, to send Hillsboro to an eight-point loss. 

Hillsboro had four players reach the scoring column with senior Kobie Miles leading the way with 18 points as she finished the game with six two-point baskets, one 3-pointer and she was 3-of-4 from the free-throw line. Miles added one rebound, one assist and one steal. 

Sophomore Ella Jordan followed with 15 points as she sank five two-point baskets, one 3-pointer and she went 2-of-4 in her free-throw attempts. Jordan also collected two rebounds and had two assists. 

Tylee Davis totaled 10 points as the junior had three two-point baskets, a 3-pointer and was 1-of-4 from the free-throw line, and she finished with nine rebounds, three assists, three steals and one block. Fellow junior Annia Young ended the game with six points off three baskets, plus she had five rebounds, one assist and one blocked shot. 

HHS also saw Piper Wilkin finish with three rebounds, four assists and a steal. Taylor-Ann Scruggs returned to the court after missing games with an illness, and she had one rebound. For the game, the Lady Indians totaled 17 two-point baskets, three 3-pointers and were 6-of-12 from the free-throw line. 

Hillsboro also had 21 team rebounds (six offensive), 11 assists, five steals and two blocks with 13 turnovers. Fayetteville totaled 15 two-point baskets, five 3-pointers and were 12-of-15 from the free-throw line. They also added team totals of 27 rebounds (12 offensive), 17 assist, nine steals and four blocks. 

For Fayetteville, they were led by Christina Murphy with 17 points as she made seven two-pointers, plus she was 3-of-5 from the free-throw line. She also added four rebounds, two assists, one steal and two blocks. 

Lilly Carlier followed with 13 points off three 3-pointers, one two-point basket and she went 2-of-2 in her free-throw attempts. Carlier also collected three rebounds, one assist and one steal. 

In all, Fayetteville had eight players reach the scoring column, with other final totals being Cara Rummel (seven points, six rebounds, three assists, two steals), Aubrey Barber (six points, four rebounds, five assists, four steals), Autumn Waddell (five points, seven rebounds, two assists, two blocks), Lindi Carlier (five points, two rebounds, three assists, one steal), Scarlett Crawford (two points, one rebound, one assist) and Tegan Combs (two points). 

As tough as the third quarter went for Hillsboro, things were much smoother in the first quarter as the two teams battled shot-for-shot, but baskets by Davis and Young put HHS ahead early at 6-0. 

Fayetteville scored their first basket of the game with a shot from Murphy, but Davis hit back with a 3-pointer for the Lady Indians and a 9-2 lead with 5:06 left in the opening quarter. After that, the Lady Rockets had back-to-back 3-pointers from Lilly Carlier, and after a rebound and jumper by Young, Carlier sank her third 3-pointer of the quarter in a span of 2:00 for an 11-11 tied score. 

The lead went back to HHS with a basket in the paint from Miles, and then it was tied at 13-13 when Lindi Carlier made a two-point shot from the field. HHS regained the lead with consecutive baskets by Jordan and Miles, but Fayetteville made it a one-point game (17-16 HHS) with three points to end the first frame. 

Fayetteville took ahold of the lead in the early stages of the second with a 3-pointer by Lindi Carlier and a basket from Murphy. HHS made it a one-point game with three straight points scored by Miles. 

The two teams exchanged baskets on multiple possessions, leaving the score 28-24 with Fayetteville leading, but HHS came back with four points scored by Jordan as she ended the second scoring six of the final seven points put on the scoreboard for a 30-29 Lady Indians lead at halftime. 

The third quarter saw Fayetteville score 12 points while HHS was held to five points for a 41-35 score. HHS scored first in the quarter with a basket by Miles, but the Lady Rockets came back with a jumper by Barber and a layup on a fastbreak by Murphy. Barber followed with another two points, but Davis made a free throw to stop the 6-0 run, which was followed with a layup by Miles for a 35-35 tied score with 3:12 on the third-quarter clock. 

Fayetteville ended the third quarter with Murphy and Lilly Carlier scoring a combined six points for the 41-35 score. 

The fourth quarter saw HHS get to within three points of tying the score at the 3:56 mark off two free throws made by Miles, and later at the 2:46 mark with a basket by Young for a 50-47 lead by Fayetteville. 

Fayetteville scored seven of the final nine points scored in the fourth quarter for their eight-point win. 

“This was a good non-league game for us to play, and this time of year it’s good. We got our kid that had surgery back and we got her some minutes, so it is nice to have some of our subs returning, and hopefully it gives us some legs as we go down through the last stretch here,” Storer said. “This is a good non-league game and a great team to play against this time of year.

“I would have liked to have seen the score a little bit closer at the end, but I think we can do that with some easy correction of not forgetting to box out in the second half, and I think we are right there, if not on the other end.”

HHS now has an overall record of 11-5 this season with a Frontier Athletic Conference mark of 7-1. Their next game is scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 28 on the road at Jackson against the Jackson Ironladies (2-6, 4-13) in FAC action. 

Fayetteville (9-0, 13-2) is scheduled to play again Thursday, Jan. 29 on the road at Whiteoak High School against the Whiteoak Lady Wildcats (5-4, 7-6) in Southern Hills Athletic Conference action. 

BOX SCORE
HHS    17 13 05 14 — 49
FHS    16 13 12 16 — 57

FAYETTEVILLE (57) — Lin.Carlier 1 (1) 0-0 5, C.Rummel 1 (0) 5-6 7, Lil.Carlier 1 (3) 2-2 13, A.Barber 2 (0) 2-2 6, C.Murphy 7 (0) 3-5 17, A.Waddell 1 (1) 0-0 5, S.Crawford 1 (0) 0-0 2, T.Combs 1 (0) 0-0 2. TOTALS: 15 (5) 12-15 57.

HILLSBORO (49) — E.Jordan 5 (1) 2-4 15, K.Miles 6 (1) 3-4 18, T.Davis 3 (1) 1-4 10, A.Young 3 (0) 0-0 6. TOTALS: 17 (3) 6-12 49.