Lady Indians improve in 2nd half for season-opening win at East Clinton
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
LEES CREEK — After trailing by 13 points at halftime, the Hillsboro Lady Indians looked like a whole different team in the second half, and it led to a season-opening road win for HHS, as they defeated the host East Clinton Lady Astros, 49-43.
The win at East Clinton saw the Lady Indians go from trailing by 13 points at halftime — and by as many as 14 points in the second quarter — to trailing by just a single point once the end of the third quarter was finished by a 37-36 score, as HHS went on a 10-0 run to end the third quarter.
Hillsboro head coach JR Moberly spoke about the second half and how his team played differently from the first half compared to the final two quarters.
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“The difference in the second half was we came out with a different intensity on the defensive end, and we were able to generate some easy baskets and were able to have shots start falling for us,” Moberly told The Highland County Press. “We were down 13 at the half, and got it to six and then to three, then we’d have a couple defensive lapses and it would jump back to 10 points.
“These girls, they need some confidence and needed to see some things fall their way, and once things started falling, they had some success. In the second half we got to more loose balls and tipped balls, and we got our hands on passes.”
Hillsboro opened the fourth quarter by taking their very first lead of the game when they had a 3-pointer from sophomore Brynn Bledsoe at the 6:33 mark of the fourth. Bledsoe ended the contest with six points, four assists, two rebounds, two steals and one block.
East Clinton regained the lead with two free throw conversion by Elizabeth Evanshine as she ended the game with 14 total points, along with four rebounds and was a perfect 5-of-5 from the free-throw line.
Next came four straight points from the Hopkins twins with senior Karleigh Hopkins stealing the ball and taking it to the hoop on a fast break layup with 5:05 on the clock. On the ensuing possession, senior Josie Hopkins equaled the feat with a steal near mid-court, followed by a fast break layup for two points, putting the Lady Indians ahead, 42-39.
Following two points by the Lady Astros, senior Kayden Watson scored two points on a layup off the assist by sophomore Gracie Dean. Following a timeout by the hosts, Dean scored two points on a fast break, with the steal and assist being credited to Bledsoe with 3:42 on the clock for a 46-41 lead for HHS.
Hillsboro added to what became a 7-0 run with two made free throws by Dean, followed by one converted free throw from senior Jordan Moberly for an eight-point advantage at 49-41 with 26.3 left on the clock. The final points of the game were from a layup by Allison Creachbaum from ECHS, who totaled 10 points and in the loss.
“The defensive intensity we applied in the third quarter allowed us to step out and do a lot of things. If we are a good defensive team, we can build off that,” Moberly said. “We work every day on defense in practice. A good friend of mine and mentor, Dave Hilliard, recommended that 60 percent of a practice be defense, and we are probably up there and work on it every day.
“The trick for us is getting out there with pressure without getting into foul trouble because we don’t have a lot of depth right now. As our younger kids come along and we have more kids available at the varsity level, I think we’ll be able to apply more of that pressure. We held off on that pressure until the third quarter because of the depth. I thought our girls did a good job.”
The opening quarter saw the momentum and lead go to East Clinton as they led by a 15-6 score, and the home team did so by scoring the first six points of the first frame within the first two minutes of action.
Hillsboro’s Bledsoe scored the first points of the season for the Lady Indians with a jumper from the corner at the 4:21 mark. The Lady Astros exchanged baskets with each other, with Hillsboro’s two points coming from Dean with 3:13 left in the opening frame. Dean led the Lady Indians with 12 points on the night, while also adding four steals and two rebounds, assists and blocks each in the win.
Later the score jumped to 10-6 with the Lady Astros in front, and EC scored the final five points of the first with a 3-pointer by Kami Whiteaker and basket by Elizabeth Evanshine.
Hillsboro did better in the second frame, but were still outscored, 13-9 as they lost control of the basketball and also had turnovers that resulted in points by the Lady Astros.
East Clinton opened the second frame with a 3-pointer, but HHS answered with a jumper by Josie Hopkins at the 5:30 mark for a 18-8 deficit for Hillsboro. After the EC lead increased to 20-8 following a timeout with a basket by Kelsi Lilly, Josie Hopkins — who totaled nine points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals — once again was there for the Lady Indians with a rebound and layup with 4:15 on the second-quarter clock.
Both teams then had a break in scoring until Josie Hopkins added two points from the free-throw line with 2:32 on the clock. EC answered with two points from the foul line by Gracie Evanshine, followed by a basket by East Clinton’s Gracie Boggs with 1:31 remaining in the first half for a 24-12 deficit for the Lady Indians. Boggs finished with eight points and 10 rebounds.
The first half ended with two more baskets by East Clinton, while HHS scored their final points of the first half with a 3-pointer by Moberly, as the score at halftime was in favor of East Clinton at 25-18.
Hillsboro came out stronger in the third frame with the first six points of the half with baskets by Moberly, Dean and Watson cutting into the EC lead at 28-21 with 4:41 left in the third. Moberly finished the game with 10 points, four rebounds, three steals and one assist.
East Clinton answered with two made free throws by Boggs, but HHS came back with an answer of their own with points by Dean from the field and a free throw by Josie Hopkins for a 30-23 with 4:22 on the third-quarter clock.
The Lady Astros rebuilt their lead back to double digits at 34-24, but Moberly sank a layup off a rebound for a 34-26 deficit, bringing the Lady Indians to within eight points of the hosts with 1:45 left in the third frame. The Lady Astros added a three-point play by Elizabeth Evanshine to increase their lead to 37-26 with 1:40 left in the third, but then the game changed from that point forward for both the Lady Indians and East Clinton.
With 1:22 left in the third, Bledsoe sank a bucket, followed by a three-point play by Watson. The senior finished with seven points with four rebounds and two steals.
Next came a 3-pointer by Karleigh Hopkins with 40.5 left in the third, and the quarter ended with a fast break layup from Dean, with the steal and assist by Karleigh Hopkins — who totaled five points, five rebounds, five steals and three assists — for the 37-36 deficit to go into the final aforementioned frame.
“They (East Clinton) came out with a 1-3-1 that we weren’t prepared to go against that early,” Moberly said. “We prepared against some zones, but not a 1-3-1. They (EC) executed it well, and Jeff (Craycraft) does a good job of preparing them. They ran their plays well and are a well-coached team. They are going to get better and better. This is a nice win for us, and I’m glad we caught East Clinton early.
“This was a great effort by every kid who stepped onto the floor, and they played hard and did a super job.”
As a team, the Lady Indians out-rebounded East Clinton, 35-34, and for the game Hillsboro had 19 steals with six players having at least two steals each. HHS also shot 20-percent better from the first half to the second half as the Lady Indians shot 43-percent from the field in the third and fourth quarters combined.
* * * *
JV FINAL: Hillsboro 30, East Clinton 17
In the JV game, the Hillsboro Lady Indians defeated the East Clinton Lady Astros by a 30-17 score in their non-conference game. Leading the Lady Indians in scoring was Susanna Barney with eight points, followed by Mya Bell with seven points and Mallory Parsons with six points.
Also for the Lady Indians, Bryanna Bledsoe scored four points, while Jaden Moberly and Lexie Lesley each scored two points. Rounding out the JV scoring was Haven Long with one point in the win.
East Clinton was led by Kelsi Lilly with five points.
The win at East Clinton saw the Lady Indians go from trailing by 13 points at halftime — and by as many as 14 points in the second quarter — to trailing by just a single point once the end of the third quarter was finished by a 37-36 score, as HHS went on a 10-0 run to end the third quarter.
Hillsboro head coach JR Moberly spoke about the second half and how his team played differently from the first half compared to the final two quarters.
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“The difference in the second half was we came out with a different intensity on the defensive end, and we were able to generate some easy baskets and were able to have shots start falling for us,” Moberly told The Highland County Press. “We were down 13 at the half, and got it to six and then to three, then we’d have a couple defensive lapses and it would jump back to 10 points.
“These girls, they need some confidence and needed to see some things fall their way, and once things started falling, they had some success. In the second half we got to more loose balls and tipped balls, and we got our hands on passes.”
Hillsboro opened the fourth quarter by taking their very first lead of the game when they had a 3-pointer from sophomore Brynn Bledsoe at the 6:33 mark of the fourth. Bledsoe ended the contest with six points, four assists, two rebounds, two steals and one block.
East Clinton regained the lead with two free throw conversion by Elizabeth Evanshine as she ended the game with 14 total points, along with four rebounds and was a perfect 5-of-5 from the free-throw line.
Next came four straight points from the Hopkins twins with senior Karleigh Hopkins stealing the ball and taking it to the hoop on a fast break layup with 5:05 on the clock. On the ensuing possession, senior Josie Hopkins equaled the feat with a steal near mid-court, followed by a fast break layup for two points, putting the Lady Indians ahead, 42-39.
Following two points by the Lady Astros, senior Kayden Watson scored two points on a layup off the assist by sophomore Gracie Dean. Following a timeout by the hosts, Dean scored two points on a fast break, with the steal and assist being credited to Bledsoe with 3:42 on the clock for a 46-41 lead for HHS.
Hillsboro added to what became a 7-0 run with two made free throws by Dean, followed by one converted free throw from senior Jordan Moberly for an eight-point advantage at 49-41 with 26.3 left on the clock. The final points of the game were from a layup by Allison Creachbaum from ECHS, who totaled 10 points and in the loss.
“The defensive intensity we applied in the third quarter allowed us to step out and do a lot of things. If we are a good defensive team, we can build off that,” Moberly said. “We work every day on defense in practice. A good friend of mine and mentor, Dave Hilliard, recommended that 60 percent of a practice be defense, and we are probably up there and work on it every day.
“The trick for us is getting out there with pressure without getting into foul trouble because we don’t have a lot of depth right now. As our younger kids come along and we have more kids available at the varsity level, I think we’ll be able to apply more of that pressure. We held off on that pressure until the third quarter because of the depth. I thought our girls did a good job.”
The opening quarter saw the momentum and lead go to East Clinton as they led by a 15-6 score, and the home team did so by scoring the first six points of the first frame within the first two minutes of action.
Hillsboro’s Bledsoe scored the first points of the season for the Lady Indians with a jumper from the corner at the 4:21 mark. The Lady Astros exchanged baskets with each other, with Hillsboro’s two points coming from Dean with 3:13 left in the opening frame. Dean led the Lady Indians with 12 points on the night, while also adding four steals and two rebounds, assists and blocks each in the win.
Later the score jumped to 10-6 with the Lady Astros in front, and EC scored the final five points of the first with a 3-pointer by Kami Whiteaker and basket by Elizabeth Evanshine.
Hillsboro did better in the second frame, but were still outscored, 13-9 as they lost control of the basketball and also had turnovers that resulted in points by the Lady Astros.
East Clinton opened the second frame with a 3-pointer, but HHS answered with a jumper by Josie Hopkins at the 5:30 mark for a 18-8 deficit for Hillsboro. After the EC lead increased to 20-8 following a timeout with a basket by Kelsi Lilly, Josie Hopkins — who totaled nine points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals — once again was there for the Lady Indians with a rebound and layup with 4:15 on the second-quarter clock.
Both teams then had a break in scoring until Josie Hopkins added two points from the free-throw line with 2:32 on the clock. EC answered with two points from the foul line by Gracie Evanshine, followed by a basket by East Clinton’s Gracie Boggs with 1:31 remaining in the first half for a 24-12 deficit for the Lady Indians. Boggs finished with eight points and 10 rebounds.
The first half ended with two more baskets by East Clinton, while HHS scored their final points of the first half with a 3-pointer by Moberly, as the score at halftime was in favor of East Clinton at 25-18.
Hillsboro came out stronger in the third frame with the first six points of the half with baskets by Moberly, Dean and Watson cutting into the EC lead at 28-21 with 4:41 left in the third. Moberly finished the game with 10 points, four rebounds, three steals and one assist.
East Clinton answered with two made free throws by Boggs, but HHS came back with an answer of their own with points by Dean from the field and a free throw by Josie Hopkins for a 30-23 with 4:22 on the third-quarter clock.
The Lady Astros rebuilt their lead back to double digits at 34-24, but Moberly sank a layup off a rebound for a 34-26 deficit, bringing the Lady Indians to within eight points of the hosts with 1:45 left in the third frame. The Lady Astros added a three-point play by Elizabeth Evanshine to increase their lead to 37-26 with 1:40 left in the third, but then the game changed from that point forward for both the Lady Indians and East Clinton.
With 1:22 left in the third, Bledsoe sank a bucket, followed by a three-point play by Watson. The senior finished with seven points with four rebounds and two steals.
Next came a 3-pointer by Karleigh Hopkins with 40.5 left in the third, and the quarter ended with a fast break layup from Dean, with the steal and assist by Karleigh Hopkins — who totaled five points, five rebounds, five steals and three assists — for the 37-36 deficit to go into the final aforementioned frame.
“They (East Clinton) came out with a 1-3-1 that we weren’t prepared to go against that early,” Moberly said. “We prepared against some zones, but not a 1-3-1. They (EC) executed it well, and Jeff (Craycraft) does a good job of preparing them. They ran their plays well and are a well-coached team. They are going to get better and better. This is a nice win for us, and I’m glad we caught East Clinton early.
“This was a great effort by every kid who stepped onto the floor, and they played hard and did a super job.”
As a team, the Lady Indians out-rebounded East Clinton, 35-34, and for the game Hillsboro had 19 steals with six players having at least two steals each. HHS also shot 20-percent better from the first half to the second half as the Lady Indians shot 43-percent from the field in the third and fourth quarters combined.
* * * *
JV FINAL: Hillsboro 30, East Clinton 17
In the JV game, the Hillsboro Lady Indians defeated the East Clinton Lady Astros by a 30-17 score in their non-conference game. Leading the Lady Indians in scoring was Susanna Barney with eight points, followed by Mya Bell with seven points and Mallory Parsons with six points.
Also for the Lady Indians, Bryanna Bledsoe scored four points, while Jaden Moberly and Lexie Lesley each scored two points. Rounding out the JV scoring was Haven Long with one point in the win.
East Clinton was led by Kelsi Lilly with five points.