Bell rings in 1,000th career point in OT win

WILMINGTON – Coming as a complete surprise, Hillsboro senior Kaylynn Bell shot her name into the Hillsboro record book with a free throw in overtime Wednesday evening, as the basket helped propel the Lady Indians to a road South Central Ohio League win.

Bell scored what was her 1,000th career point with 19.5 seconds left in overtime in a 65-58 win over the Wilmington Hurricane at WHS. Bell sank two free throws on that trip and one final free throw with 10.3 left in the game to put her at 1,002 points for her career thus far.

The thing about the free throw at the 19.5 mark was she had no idea that was her 1,000th career point and didn't know until a timeout following the second made free throw when she heard the Wilmington PA announcer announce the feat to the crowd on hand.

Bell finished the game with 16 points, as she needed 14 to reach the 1,000-point plateau before the SCOL road showdown. Bell scored 11 points from the free-throw line on Wednesday.

"I was completely oblivious that I was that close to scoring my 1,000th point," Bell told The Highland County Press. "I thought I was 50 points away. I thought the announcer was just repeating the fact I had made the free throw, then I looked over and when he said it I kind of teared up a little bit, because like I said, I had no idea."

Bell also spoke about the circumstances of making a free throw like that in a close overtime game, a trip to the free-throw line that put HHS ahead by six points and all but sealed the win against a surging Lady 'Cane team.

"It was nice that I made the free throws in that situation, and I found it ironic that it came on a free throw since my free-throw percentage isn't that good," Bell said.

Bell, who had numerous assists in the win against Wilmington, didn't take full credit for the accomplishment, thanking many involved for her success on the court the past four seasons.

"I want to thank my teammates for passing me the ball over the years," she said with a laugh. "My parents, I want to thank them for pushing me for being who I am, and my coaches for motivating me when I needed it."

As for the Lady Indians' head coach, JR Moberly credited his senior point guard for the 1,000-point accomplishment.

"I think the coolest thing was Kaylynn really had no idea she was that close," Moberly said. "She had an idea she was approaching it, but she's an unselfish player. She plays hard, and she's developed into a shooter because that's what we needed her to do … we needed her to shoot the basketball for us.

"Time and again, you see kids planning it and how they want it to be done, but Kaylynn scoring her 1,000th point to wrap up an SCOL overtime win for us is just great. Like Kaylynn said in her comments, her teammates have made it possible for her to have her success, but her parents even more so. Also, her youth coaches Tim Bell and Tom Rhodes  … they have helped her develop into a good basketball player along the way. I'm just happy for her."

Even with all of the postgame celebrations, there was still the matter of a very competitive and tough road win for the Lady Indians, against a Wilmington team that though young, never gave in, even when trailing by 20-plus points.

"We have to credit Wilmington and Coach (Mark) Short and how they battled back in the second half," Moberly said. "They are a good basketball team and took us to the brink in the fourth quarter and overtime."

For the Lady Indians (4-2, 9-3), they led 42-34 after the conclusion of the third frame, but in the final eight minutes, it seemed that every shot the Lady 'Cane took swished through the hoop, outscoring the visiting Lady Indians, 20-12.

Then came that aforementioned fourth frame with the Lady 'Cane scoring the first nine points of the quarter, which included the Lady Indians missing seven consecutive field goal attempts. A free throw from Alyssa Sullivan tied the game at 43-43, as it was WHS who previously took the lead with points from Victoria Fliehmann with 5:21 on the clock.

With the score being tied, Sullivan then put the Lady Indians back out front with a put-back bucket, but that was quickly answered with a jumper by the Lady 'Cane at 4:25 of the final frame.

After the Lady 'Cane regained the lead at 4:06, the Lady Indians were back at it, with Sullivan (who totaled nine points in the win) scoring more points in the paint at 2:54 and Kirsten Juillerat adding a layup at 2:03 to give HHS a 50-47 advantage.

Following two HHS missed baskets, Fliehmann responded for WHS with a 3-pointer to tie the game at 50 with 1:15 left in regulation. Fliehmann led all scorers with 19 points.

But there was Juillerat, who totaled 16 points, again with another layup to push HHS back into the top spot 13 seconds later.

The score was later tied at 52, and Bell made two free throws to give HHS another advantage with 11.9 on the clock in regulation, but Katlyn Jamiel sank two pressure-packed free throws with 2.8 remaining in regulation to force overtime.

Overtime was led by HHS at 11-4, including Bell and Madison Snyder scoring four straight points for HHS in the OT for a 58-54 advantage at the 3:12 point of the OT. Snyder finished with a team-high 17 points.

Jamiel sank two free throws, but it was Sullivan in the paint once again to put HHS up by four points. After two points by the 'Lady 'Cane to make it a two-point game, Snyder responded with two more points from the free-throw line, followed by HHS ending the game on what was a 5-0 run with three free throws by Bell that helped her surpass the 1,000-point achievement.

The first three quarters were a little different for the Lady Indians, leading 18-8 after the opening eight minutes and 36-17 at halftime.

"Our kids played a great first half, but Wilmington's kids took it right back at us in the second half," Moberly said. "They stole all the momentum basically at the start of the second half, and it took us a while to gain it back.

"Credit our senior leadership … we did just enough to stay in it and win it. In OT, we were able to execute and do what we wanted to do. In the second half, we forced things, and we missed a few too many shots. We stopped playing strong, and their kids took it to us, but we were able to battle though and win on the road."

In JV play, HHS defeated Wilmington, 46-20. Taylor Chaney led HHS with 15 points.