Lady Indians bow out in sectional quarterfinals

FRANKFORT — It was a rebuilding season for the Hillsboro Lady Indians this year. On Monday evening, step one in rebuilding the program came to a close, as the Lady Indians were defeated in a Division II SE District Sectional Quarterfinal by Logan Elm, 50-45.

The game also marked the end of the high school basketball career of senior Madison Snyder, as she’ll go down as one of the top players in the girls program, scoring over 1,000 points in her four years as a varsity starter. Also in their final game game for HHS were seniors Hanna Breeden and Lilly McCleese.

“As for Maddy Snyder … I can talk all day and not say the right things,” HHS head coach JR Moberly said. “She’s been super, and we are going to miss her a great deal. Not just because of how much she does on the basketball court, but because of the kind of kid that she is. If you are going to rebuild a program, you want to have a player like her to set that kind of example.

“She always has her books studying, she’s a 4.5 student and just got accepted into Ohio Northern’s pharmacy school. She got into every one she applied to, but that is the one she wanted. She sent me a text Saturday that said, ‘I’m a Polar Bear.’ She’s just a super kid.”

Moberly also spoke very highly of Breeden and McCleese.

“Our seniors have been great,” he said. “Hanna, we just had a chance to coach this year. She’s been doing a lot of work in the offseason for softball, and this season she joined the team, and I was really excited. It has been a blessing to be able to coach her, and I’ve always known she was a good kid. She’s a lot of fun, and it was good to see her compete on the basketball court.

“Lilly, I’ve watched her for a long time in soccer and basketball. She sacrificed a lot for us this year and agreed to put some time in at the JV level, otherwise we may have not been able to finish our JV season. Without the sacrifice she made, we had a lot of kids get extra minutes, because Lilly was willing to do that. She’s made that sacrifice not only for us, but for the soccer team as well. She’s a super kid, and you have to have kids like her in your program if you want to have a program.”

As for the sectional quarterfinal game between the No. 9 seeded Lady Indians and the No. 8 seeded Logan Elm Lady Braves, they played a closely contested game for the most part. At the completion of the first quarter, Logan Elm led by a 15-9 score, but once halftime rolled around, the score was tied at 22-22.

Hillsboro had a surge of scoring in the first from Riley Moberly, with the sophomore making two two-point baskets and a 3-pointer for seven of the nine points scored by HHS in the opening frame. Snyder sank two free throws in the quarter to complete the first-frame scoring.

Snyder led HHS with 17 points.

The Lady Indians came alive in the second quarter, outscoring LE, 13-7 for the 22-22 halftime score.

HHS opened the second with points from Moberly as she finished with nine points in the game. From there, Logan Elm answered with a basket of their own, but Snyder returned the favor with a put-back basket with 6:03 left in the firs half to make it a four-point differential.

“Riley shot the ball well for us in the first quarter,” Moberly said. “When she makes the first one, she keeps shooting, but when she misses, she shuts it off, so I was glad to see the first one go in. I also thought she had a nice game for us on the boards. She played strong (Monday).”

That pattern of scoring continued throughout the second frame until HHS scored the final four points of the second with a 3-pointer by Lana Grover with 2:19 left in the quarter, followed a minute later with a jumper by Natalie Sullivan to tie the score at 22-all.

“We got out to defend their shooters a little better in the second quarter, and we got a couple shots of ours to fall,” Moberly said. “They (LE) hit those three 3-pointers in the first quarter, otherwise we aren’t digging out of a hole at that point.”

Hillsboro’s third frame consisted of 11 points, while their counterpart added 13 points to their totals for a 35-33 point differential in favor of the Lady Braves, who were the home team in the tournament matchup.

The Lady Indians took the lead in the third by scoring the quarter’s first two baskets, with Snyder scoring an “old-fashioned” three-point play and Sullivan sinking a basket from the corner for a 27-22 advantage with 7:21 left in the frame.

Logan Elm rallied back with six straight points, only to have Grover sink a trey at the 3:11 mark to give HHS a two-point lead at 30-28.

The score was later tied at 32-32, following HHS losing the lead and then tying the score with a basket by Snyder with 1:20 left in the quarter. Logan Elm took the lead back with a 3-pointer, and HHS ended the third with a free-throw conversion by Sydney Bobbitt.

For the final quarter of the season, HHS was outscored, 15-12, though HHS did get to within two points of tying the score with 1:29 left on the clock following a layup by Marsh, who made a 3-pointer in the fourth as well.

Also for HHS in the final quarter, Kristin Jamieson made a 3-pointer, and Snyder added to her overall totals.

Logan Elm was led by Jill Congrove with 20 points (three 3-pointers) and Jessica Willard with 11 points. The Lady Braves were 11-of-17 from the free-throw line, and HHS went 8-of-18.

LE will now play the No. 1 seeded Miami Trace Lady Panthers, the South Central Ohio League champions, in the sectional semifinals on Wednesday night at AHS with a 6:15 p.m. start.