Hillsboro falls to Fairfield Union in district semifinals

CHILLICOTHE — The Hillsboro Lady had their successful season come to a close on Wednesday evening as they lost to the state-ranked No. 1 seeded Fairfield Union Lady Falcons in the Division IV SE District Semifinals at Southeastern High School, 52-36. 

Hillsboro (19-4) finished the season with their most wins in a season in program history, and they were second place overall in the Frontier Athletic Conference with an 8-2 record in conference play. 

“We ended the season with 19 wins,  and that's absolutely something to be proud of,” Hillsboro head coach Heather Storer said. “They don't recognize it anymore, but our last tournament win would have been a sectional championship, so that's something that hasn't been done in 24 years at HHS.”

Wednesday saw the Lady Indians have their share of struggles against the top-ranked Lady Falcons, but HHS was first to score in the game with a 3-pointer by Kobie Miles at the 6:11 mark of the first. From there, the Lady Falcons went on a 8-0 run with a 3-pointer by Maycee Martindill, a two-pointer by Christian Thompson and a 3-pointer by Taylor Smeck. 

Hillsboro was next on the scoreboard with a basket by Tylee Davis at the 2:35 mark of the first for an 8-5 score, but Fairfield Union scored the next six points before HHS scored the final points of the first off a layup by Annia Young, leaving the Lady Falcons in front 14-7 at the end of the quarter. 

Hillsboro had their best quarter of the game in the second by outscoring Fairfield Union 13-11 in the frame. 

HHS cut the Lady Falcons’ lead to three points with 1:45 left in their first half, and they trailed by as many as 10 points early in the second quarter. 

Hillsboro’s second frame consisted of six points from Young, a 3-pointer by Kyra Boyd, the aforementioned layup by Davis, plus two made free-throws from Miles. 

With Fairfield Union leading 25-20 at halftime, the No. 1 seeded Lady Falcons turned the heat up a couple levels in the third frame, outscoring the Lady Indians 14-4 for a lead of 39-24. 

“Being within five at halftime that's exactly where we wanted to be,” Storer said. “We were ready in the second half. We had to change some things up, but that first half, that's exactly what we wanted to do. I don't think they were ready for what we threw at them, and I think it was the right game plan. The second half we had some issues just making some shots under the hoop. They (Fairfield Union) had a really good defense, so we knew they were going to be super aggressive. 

“You're not 24-0 without playing a good defense, and we knew that we had to be able to score tonight to contend with them. In the third quarter we really struggled to score. They scored 10 or 11 uncontested from us, and that's the difference in the game when a team makes that big of a run and you don't throw anything back at them. 

“I thought we fought hard the whole time. Their lead got up to 15, and then we fought back, and we were within seven, so I applaud the kids’ fight, and we didn't lay down whatsoever, and that's all you can ask for.”

The dominant effort by Fairfierld Union in the third saw them begin the quarter with five straight points, which included a 10-1 run for a lead of 35-21 with 3:08 left in the frame. 

The Lady Indians in the third didn’t make a shot from the field as their four points in the quarter came from four made free throws by Davis. 

The fourth quarter included 13 more points from Fairfield Union and 12 points scored by Hillsboro. 

Hillsboro cut the Lady Falcons’ lead to as low as seven points in the fourth quarter, but Fairfield Union had an 11-2 run in the final 3:31 of the game for their 16-point win as they moved onto the district finals. 

Hillsboro’s fourth quarter points consisted of a free throw from Peighton Bledsoe, four points from Miles, four points by Davis and a 3-pointer made by Boyd. 

Fairfield Union was led by Thompson with 16 points, followed by Martindill with 14 points, and Smeck with 13 points. 

The Lady Falcons also had the following scoring: Maddi Mitchell (3), Samantha Sattler (2), Jill Cooperider (2) and Alexis Leith (2). 

Davis led the Lady Indians with 12 points, followed by Miles with nine points. Young finished with eight points, Boyd was next with six points, and Bledsoe totaled one point. 

Hillsboro says goodbye to their lone senior Peighton Bledsoe. 

“I told the kids in the locker room I went to a ceremony, and I listened to all these coaches talk about foundational players and players that leave their program better, and that's Peighton in a nutshell,” Storer said. “Her sophomore year, we won four basketball games, so she has helped transform this program into what it is today. 

“She's going to leave a huge hole. We've got a huge spot to fill. I love that kid like she's my own. There's no kid that that gets yelled at more than her, but there's so much of a respect level there. I wish her the absolute best. I love her and her family.” 

Fairfield Union will now play in the district finals on Saturday, Feb. 22 at 5 p.m. against No. 2 seeded Circleville at Southeastern High School. 

BOX SCORE 
HHS      07 13 04 12 — 36
FUHS    14 11 14 13 — 52

FAIRFIELD-UNION (52) — C.Thompson 5 (1) 3-4 16, M.Mitchell 1 (0) 1-2 3, S.Sattler 1 (0) 0-0 2, T.Smeck 2 (1) 6-10 13, J.Cooperider 1 (0) 0-0 2, M.Martindill 2 (2) 4-4 14, A.Leith 1 (0) 0-0 2. TOTALS: 14 (4) 14-20 52. 

HILLSBORO (36) — P.Bledsoe 0 (0) 1-2 1, K.Miles 1 (1) 4-4 9, T.Davis 3 (0) 6-8 12, K.Boyd 0 (2) 0-0 6, A.Young 4 (0) 0-0 8. TOTALS: 8 (3) 11-14 36. 

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