Lady Indians win by 3 over LC
The final five minutes of the non-conference game between the Hillsboro Lady Indians and the Lynchburg-Clay Lady Mustangs saw the Lady Indians take the lead and never give it back … but it wasn't easy.
The Lady Indians won the game by a 54-51 score, but they had to battle with a strong LC team that was playing without starter McKayla Binkley, who missed the game due to an injury.
"Lynchburg-Clay is always one of the better teams in their conference and one of the better teams in the area," HHS head coach JR Moberly said. "They were playing without their point guard (Saturday), and I thought they compensated well. They played a good basketball game.
"Coach Lewis did a nice job with her team, and we were fortunate to get out of here with a win."
Even down a usual starter, LC made the Lady Indians battle for the win.
HHS never led by more than four points after the conclusion of any quarter, with HHS leading 14-13 after the first quarter, beginning with a 6-1 run to start the game.
In that opening sequence, HHS began with points by Madison Snyder, Trista Rhodes (she also had five assists) and another two points from Snyder after LC's Bailey Leininger sank a free throw for the 6-1 score with 6:25 left on the first-quarter clock.
Madison Wills added two points for the Lady Mustangs, but with 4:44 left in the first, Snyder went 2-for-2 from the free-throw line for an 8-3 advantage.
Later in the quarter, Ali Little made a free throw for LC, though HHS came back with four consecutive points by Kirsten Juillerat at the 3:46 mark to push HHS out front, 12-4.
LC then began to click with Hannah Binkley (who scored 14 points) sinking a 3-pointer at 3:30 and Little making a put-back bucket to cut the HHS lead to three points. Juillerat made it a five-point lead once again, but as the first came to a close, Little scored four consecutive points to leave HHS ahead by just a single point, 14-13.
The Lady Indians outscored LC, 10-7 in the second quarter with the score being tied twice at 16 and 18 during the frame. LC began the second with a three-point play by Lexi Waits to give LC their first lead of the game at 16-14.
Snyder was there with four straight points, Little, who finished with 13 points, tied the score at 18 with points in the paint, and the duo of Alyssa Sullivan and Kaylynn Bell combined with four points to give HHS a 24-18 advantage with 2:01 left in the quarter.
Bell and Snyder finished with a game-high 20 points apiece. They also each had a double-double with 11 rebounds each.
"Kaylynn made some big plays on offense and made some big plays on defense," Moberly said. "She had a nice night, but a lot of our kids stepped up and did some big things at different times.
"I'm pleased to see that, because games over the break are difficult. You don't get into the routine. The girls play tough (Saturday), and it was a hard night for us to play for a variety of reasons. But they did a super job of pulling together."
In the third, both teams continued the trend of the first two quarters, eventually leading to HHS and the Lady Mustangs being tied at 34 with 2:35 left in the third. HHS did score the final four points of the third for a four-point advantage.
The score was never tied in the third, but it left the Lady Indians ahead by four points.
In the fourth, Waits brought LC to within one point of the Lady Indians with a 3-pointer, leaving 7:47 on the scoreboard. LC then regained the lead with two points by Vanessa Thiel to put LC ahead 39-38. Thiel ended the game with 11 points.
Those points by LC would be the final time the Lady Mustangs led the game, as Bell gave HHS the lead at 41-39 with a 3-points, beginning a 9-0 run by the Lady Indians with Juillerat finalizing the run with a put-back basket at the three-minute mark for a 47-42 HHS lead.
"Kirsten showed a lot of heart and character in this game," Moberly said. "She had a nice night and competed. We are really proud of her."
LC made it a one-point deficit once again at 47-46 with Thiel and Leininger scoring consecutive buckets, but Bell made it a three-point lead for HHS once again with two free throws with 2:18 remaining in regulation.
Bell followed those points with a steal and layup, but Hannah Binkley made the score a two-point differential with a 3-pointer for LC at the 46.6 mark of the fourth, keeping LC within reach of tying the score.
HHS responded by making free throws with Snyder and Bell combining for two points and a three-point win, following a two-point basket by Thiel that brought LC to within one point of tying the score with 10 seconds on the clock.
LC had one final chance to win the game, but the final shot wasn't converted. LC out-rebounded HHS, 46-45.