Lady Tigers take down Hillsboro

HILLSBORO — Saturday afternoon saw the final battle of the season between the host Hillsboro Lady Indians and McClain Lady Tigers, and the second and final round of the Highland County rivalry went to the visiting McClain squad, winning by a 44-38 score. 

The first time these two teams met earlier this season at MHS (Dec. 23), it was Hillsboro winning that contest, 44-42, so both games were decided by a combined eight points for the 2023-24 season. 

“Our seniors they came out ready to play tonight,” McClain head coach Shania Massie said. “I think this was one of their biggest goals on the season was to beat Hillsboro, especially after they beat us at our home place. I think all four of the seniors really just came out and hustled hard and did everything we asked. 

“The girls who played all came out ready to play. They all did their role.”

McClain’s win also puts them in sole possession of second place in the Frontier Athletic Conference, with a 7-3 conference record this season, and Hillsboro takes third place in the FAC for the season at 5-5 in conference play. 

Jackson won the conference with a 10-0 record in the FAC, while Washington and Miami Trace both finish at 3-7 and Chillicothe ends the FAC season at 2-8. 

As for the game on Saturday, McClain (11-10) opened the game with a 3-pointer by Kaitlyn Jett, who put MHS ahead 6-1 with 4:05 left in the first quarter by sinking another 3-pointer for the five-point lead. 

HHS (10-11) cut the Lady Tigers’ lead to two points with a three-point basket by Blake Herdman and a free throw from Peighton Bledsoe, but Haylee Havens of McClain pushed the lead back to four points with a layup at the 2:52 mark of the first. 

Bledsoe kept HHS close to the McClain lead with a basket in the paint, but McClain ended the first quarter with baskets by Paisley Pryor, Anna Eikenberry and Luca Matesic for a 14-6 lead when the first quarter closed. 

The Lady Indians cut their eight-point deficit in half once the second quarter came to a close with a 24-20 score at halftime, as McClain never trailed in the quarter.

That said, there were two tied scores at the 3:45 mark and 1:59 mark of the second when the first tied score was due to a jumper by Tylee Davis of HHS for a 16-16 score. The second tied score came when Kyra Boyd scored two points off a layup for a 20-20 score. 

MHS broke the tie and regained a four-point lead with baskets by Brenna Wright and Pryor. 

McClain extended their lead to seven points following the conclusion of the third quarter as they led by as many as 10 points with 5:50 left in the quarter with six straight points to start the quarter off baskets by Wright, Lily Barnes and Pryor. 

HHS broke the run with a basket by Kobie Miles, then later Boyd and Rylie Scott made it a five-point deficit with a free throw made by Boyd and a layup at the 2:25 mark by Scott. 

The final points of the quarter all came from the free-throw line from both teams, resulting in the Lady Tigers leading 33-26 going into the final quarter. 

Again, McClain didn’t trail in the final eight minutes, holding a 10-point lead with 1:26 left in regulation. MHS in the fourth quarter had two points from Pryor, four points by Barnes off a 4-of-4 performance from the free-throw line, three points scored by Eikenberry and two points scored by Leah Lovett. 

HHS in the fourth quarter had three points scored by Bledsoe, four points by Boyd, two points each by Scott and Addyson Miles, and one point from Herdman. 

For the game, McClain was led in the scoring column by Pryor with 12 points, followed by Barnes with 10 points. Jett totaled six points, followed by Eikenberry with five points. The rest of the scoring for HHS included Wright (four), Lovett (three), Matesic (two) and Havens (two). 

For the game, the Lady Indians were led in scoring by Boyd with 12 points, followed by Bledsoe and Davis with six points each. The rest of the Lady Indians’ scoring included Kobie Miles (four), Scott (four), Addyson Miles (two) and Herdman (two). 

Both Hillsboro and McClain will finish their regular seasons Wednesday, Feb. 7 at home, with Hillsboro hosting Wilmington and McClain facing Zane Trace. 

The No. 13 McClain Lady Tigers will face No. 4 Unioto Thursday, Feb. 15 at 8 p.m. at Zane Trace. No. 11 Hillsboro will face No. 6 Jackson for a third time this season Saturday, Feb. 17 at 6:15 p.m. at Chillicothe.

BOX SCORE
MHS    14 10 09 11 — 44
HHS    06 14 06 12 — 38

MCCLAIN (44) — P.Pryor 6 (0) 0-0 12, L.Matesic 1 (0) 0-0 2, H.Havens 1 (0) 0-0 2, K.Jett 0 (2) 0-0 6, L.Barnes 2 (0) 6-6 10, B.Wright 2 (0) 0-0 4, A.Eikenberry 2 (0) 1-2 5, L.Lovett 1 (0) 1-2 3. TOTALS: 15 (2) 8-10 44.

HILLSBORO (38) — P.Bledsoe 2 (0) 2-4 6, K.Miles 2 (0) 0-0 4, R.Scott 2 (0) 0-0 4, T.Davis 1 (1) 1-2 6, A.Miles 1 (0) 0-0 2, K.Boyd 5 (0) 2-6 12, B.Herdman 1 (0) 2-4 4. TOTALS: 14 (1) 7-16 38.