Lady Indians earn 20-point win over Lynchburg-Clay

DODSONVILLE — Starting the game with an 11-0 run, the Hillsboro Lady Indians went on to defeat the host Lynchburg-Clay Lady Mustangs, 56-36 Monday evening, completing the 2025 portion of their basketball schedule. 

The Dec. 29 win by the Lady Indians included them not only holding an 11-point lead with 2:57 left in the first quarter, but their defense held the Lady Mustangs to two single-digit scoring quarters with HHS leading 13-5 at the completion of the first quarter. HHS later held LCHS to nine points in the fourth frame. 

The win by Hillsboro also snapped a quick two-game skid, as they improved to 8-3 overall and they are also 4-1 in the Frontier Athletic Conference (FAC). The loss sends Lynchburg-Clay to an 2-8 overall record, and they are 1-4 in the Division I standings of the Southern Hills Athletic Conference (SHAC). 

“​​Setting the pace is exactly what we wanted to do,” Hillsboro head coach Heather Storer said. “We knew we'd be quicker than these guys, and we knew we needed to push the ball in transition, because we knew they would probably play a zone, and it's a good defensive team. They do a nice job defensively. 

“I don't want to say we struggled to score, but it felt like we struggled to get going, just to set the pace. Once we figured out what we needed to do and making the right reads, then we were able to kind of push the gas and keep on going.” 

Looking into the first quarter for the Lady Indians and Lady Mustangs on Monday, the scoring run of the visitors began with two converted free-throw shots from Kobie Miles (2-of-2 for the game), followed by a layup by Tylee Davis, who ended the game with 19 points and 10 rebounds for her seventh double-double of the season. 

Currently through 11 games, Davis is averaging a double-double for the season with 19.7 points per game and 12.4 rebounds per game. The junior on Monday also finished with five steals. 

After the basket by Davis, Hillsboro added to their run of 11 points with a put-back basket by Piper Wilkin, then Annia Young scored two points in the paint with 3:58 on the clock for an 8-0 lead. Wilkin’s totals in the game saw the sophomore score two points, six rebounds and 11 assists. 

“That’s a really nice night,” Storer said of Wilkin’s assists.

The HHS lead got to 11-0 when Ella Jordan sank a 3-pointer from the corner of the court with 2:57 on the clock, forcing the Lady Mustangs to call a timeout. Jordan finished the game with 10 points, four rebounds, one assist and three steals. 

Following the timeout, LCHS scored their first points of the game with a 3-pointer by Addy Carraher, and the LCHS positives continued on the defensive side with Savannah Bell taking a charge with 1:42 left in the first. 

Davis scored two more points in the first quarter, taking the ball the length of the court for a layup and a 13-3 Lady Indian lead with 1:03 on the clock. LCHS scored the final two points of the first with a bucket from Madison McMullen. 

“[Hillsboro] went on an 11-0 run before we even put a ball in the basket, and Hillsboro is a good team,” Lynchburg-Clay head coach Whitney Lewis said. “We knew that coming in. We knew they were kind of just going to put points on the board. Our job was to try to slow them down, and we didn't do a great job of that in the beginning there. 

“I thought we turned the ball over and kind of played a little afraid. We don't want to do that against any team, but especially a good team like this. I thought after we calmed down a little bit, we got back in the flow of things.” 

There were a total of 24 points scored in the second quarter, with Hillsboro leading the frame at 14-10 for a halftime lead of 27-15. 

HHS led by as many as 12 points in the quarter on two occasions and held at least a 10-point lead seven times. LCHS got to within six points of tying the score with 3:47 left in the second quarter following consecutive baskets scored by McMullen and Ava McLaughlin. McLaughlin totaled 12 points off six made baskets. McMullen ended the game with 10 points, as she made five baskets. 

“Ava McLaughlin had a great game for us,” Lewis said. “She was shooting really well. I think at one point it was the tallest person on the floor guarding the smallest person on the floor, and that's a fun matchup to watch. Ava took advantage of a lot of good looks tonight, had a lot of good looks at the basket. 

“Madison played well too. I thought Madison played well given the fact that she was giving up a lot of height there to her, just being aggressive to the basket. Those two kids really helped us out.”

After Lynchburg-Clay made their deficit six points, and a timeout by Hillsboro, it was the post play of Young that was a difference maker for the pace of the game, as the junior powered her way in the paint for three consecutive baskets at the 3:03, 2:26 and 1:40 marks of the quarter, putting Hillsboro ahead 25-13 and doubling their lead from six points to a 12-point advantage. Young finished the game with 12 points, five rebounds, two assists and two blocks. 

“I think a lot of our buckets came from transition and getting the ball up the floor, and then Annia had some nice stick-backs,” Storer said.

Lewis also spoke about Young’s play Monday night.

“Young is a force inside, very efficient,” she said. “I mean, when she catches it down there, it's pretty much a guaranteed point.”

The second frame ended with the two teams exchanging baskets for a 27-15 score at halftime. 

“We got it within five there in that second quarter, five or six, within striking distance, for sure,” Lewis said. “I was really happy with our fight to come back and get that back on the board, and then we just struggled to score. We’ve just got to find a way to put the ball in the basket a little bit better.” 

HHS won the third frame at 13-12 as the competitive quarter saw HHS build their lead to 14 points early in the quarter, but HHS made it an eight-point deficit around the 2:30 mark of the third quarter for a 33-25 score. 

The Lady Indians scored the final five points of the third quarter, taking a 13-point lead at 40-27 with two free throws made by Taylor-Ann Scruggs (4-of-4 for the game) and a 3-pointer by Davis with 5.9 left on the clock. 

Hillsboro took over the game in the fourth quarter, but LCHS scored first with a basket by McLaughlin. HHS answered with two points scored by Young at the 5:05 mark, but McMullen for the Lady Mustangs had a basket at the 4:21 mark. 

HHS answered with a 10-0 run from the 4:21 mark to the clock reading 2:43, starting with a 3-pointer by Miles, followed by a Jordan 3-pointer. Miles’ totals in the win included seven points, six rebounds, two assists and four steals. 

Next was a basket from Davis, and a rebound and drive to the hoop by Jordan left the Lady Indians in front, 52-31, for a 21-point lead. 

Lynchburg-Clay kept battling with a free throw made by Bell, and Lily Ferguson went the distance of the court with a layup with 1:45 left in the fourth as Ferguson finished with eight points. 

Davis came back with a basket, and LCHS had another bucket by McLaughlin. The final basket of the game came late with two points scored by Davis, giving the Lady Indians a 20-point win. 

More HHS final scoring included Parker Wilkin with two points (two steals) and Scruggs with four points (three rebounds). 

More LCHS final scoring included Bell (1), Joslyn Rockey (2) and Carraher (3). 
LCHS totaled 16 two-point baskets, one 3-pointer (Carraher), and they were 1-of-2 from the free-throw line. HHS totaled 19 two-point baskets, four 3-pointers (Jordan 2, Miles 1, Davis 1), and they went 6-of-6 from the free-throw line. 

In the JV game, the Hillsboro Lady Indians defeated Lynchburg-Clay 30-4 with HHS JV being led by Nevaeh Blair with 11 points, making three 3-pointers and two free throws. Kylee-Ann Scruggs totaled seven points, Taylor-Ann Scruggs scored six points, Zoey Page had four points and Parker Wilkin scored two points. 

LCHS JV scoring saw Brystal McClain with three points (a 3-pointer) and Lizzie Hall with one point. 

Next for the Lady Indians is a non-conference game on Saturday, Jan. 3 at home against the Circleville Lady Tigers (7-2) at 12:30 p.m. 

Lynchburg-Clay is scheduled to play next on Monday, Jan. 5 at home against SHAC rival, the Whiteoak Lady Wildcats. 

BOX SCORE
HHS    13 14 13 16 — 56
LCHS    05 10 12 09 — 36

HILLSBORO (56) — E.Jordan 2 (2) 0-0 10, K.Miles 1 (1) 2-2 7, T.Davis 8 (1) 0-0 19, Pi.Wilkin 1 (0) 0-0 2, Pa.Wilkin 1 (0) 0-0 2, T.Scruggs 0 (0) 4-4 4, A.Young 6 (0) 0-0 12. TOTALS: 19 (4) 6-6 56.

LYNCHBRUG-CLAY (36) — L.Ferguson 4 (0) 0-0 8, S.Bell 0 (0) 1-2 1, J.Rockey 1 (0) 0-0 2, A.McLaughlin 6 (0) 0-0 12, M.McMullen 5 (0) 0-0 10, A.Carraher 0 (1) 0-0 3. TOTALS: 16 (1) 1-2 36.