Hillsboro Lady Indians advance to district semifinals

HILLSBORO — Fending off a tough No. 5 seeded Warren Lady Warriors team, the No. 4 seeded Hillsboro Lady Indians were clutch when needed in the final quarter of the Division IV SE District Quarterfinals, winning by a 59-55 score Saturday at HHS. 

The biggest moment of the game came when Hillsboro sophomore Tylee Davis had a four-point play as she was fouled when shooting — and making — a 3-pointer with 1:29 left in regulation, breaking a tied 48-48 score. Davis totaled 12 points. 

Davis then made the ensuing free throw for a 52-48 Lady Indians lead. From there, HHS made their next 7-of-8 free throws to seal what became a four-point win, advancing them to the semifinal round. 

“This win is super exciting. They don't like to count it anymore, but that's a sectional championship for our girls,” Hillsboro head coach Heather Storer said. “I’m super proud of them. The girls program hasn't had a sectional championship since 2001, so these girls battled hard, and we knew (Warren) would be tough.”

At the start of the game, it had the feel of a runaway victory for the Lady Indians as they scored the first 13 points of the game with 4:15 left in the first quarter. 

HHS started with a 3-pointer by Kyra Boyd one minute into the game, as she finished the game with 18 points. 

At the 5:41 mark, it was Kobie Miles with a 3-pointer — totaling 16 points — followed by two free throws from Boyd. 

Peighton Bledsoe put the Lady Indians ahead by 11 points with a 3-pointer at the 4:40 mark, and a one-handed layup by Boyd put HHS ahead 13-0 with 4:15 left in the opening quarter. 

The second part of the first quarter was the complete opposite for Hillsboro as they were outscored 11-0 from the 4:10 mark to the end of the frame by Warren for the 13-11 score. 

“We knew they were going to battle. I mean, everybody wants to win this time of year, everybody's going to go on their run,” Storer said. “You just have to be ready to take punches, and punch back at them when they do.

“I thought we'd stayed locked in and focused as a staff and as players. We've been in a lot of close games this year, and we haven't came out on top yet. I told them after our Adena loss that one was going to mean something, and I think tonight showed that that one meant something to us well. 

“I told the girls that loss wasn't for nothing. It was the perfect time to have a situation like that, and we were ready for tonight for it to be close at the end.”

Warren continued their scoring run in the early stages of the second with three more points with a basket, and later a free-throw conversion with 6:42 left in the second frame for a 14-13 lead over the Lady Indians. 

HHS came back to regain the lead with 6:16 left in the quarter off two free throws by Davis, followed by a three-point play by Boyd. 

The Lady Indians kept the lead for the rest of the second as they ended the quarter with a six-point lead, as Boyd scored a basket at the buzzer off an assist from Bledsoe for a 26-20 score. 

Hillsboro increased their lead to eight points at the start of the third following a basket by Miles, but Warren wasn’t backing down, scoring the next six points off baskets by Rylee Arnold and Mackenzie James-McGuire for a 28-26 score with 5:32 left in the third. James-McGuire led Warren with 28 points. 

Hillsboro answered with 4:22 remaining in the third after Annia Young scored two points in the paint. That was the start of six straight points by Hillsboro, as Miles and Davis also each made a basket for a 34-26 lead. 

Warren, again, had an answer, this time baskets by James-McGuire and Jayda Murray, then after two free throws by Bledsoe, the Lady Warriors scored a 3-pointer off a shot by James-McGuire for a three-point deficit for Warren at 36-33 with 1:55 left in the quarter. 

HHS and Warren each scored four more points in the third, leaving the score at 40-37 in favor of HHS headed into the fourth frame. 

Hillsboro opened the fourth quarter with a jumper by Dinah Ames, and after two points by the visitors, Davis made two free throws for a 44-39 score with 6:17 on the clock. 

Warren made a jumper by Sarah Pettey, and a 3-pointer by James-McGuire left the score tied at 44-44 with 4:55 left in regulation. 

HHS regained the lead with a 3-pointer by Bledsoe, but Warren equaled the feat with a 3-pointer from James-McGuire as each team had 47 points with 3:12 left on the clock. 

The score tied again at 48 as each team made a free throw, and then came the aforementioned four-point play by Davis that pushed the Lady Indians ahead 52-48 with 1:29 left in the game. 

Hillsboro’s lead went from six to four points on multiple occasions as the game got closer to an end, but the Lady Indians held on to their lead for the rest of the game, securing a ticket to the district semifinals. 

The remaining final scoring totals for HHS included Bledsoe (8), Ames (3) and Young (2). 

Hillsboro team totals were 11 two-pointers, six 3-pointers, and the Lady Indians were 18-of-19 from the free-throw line.

“We were 18-of-20 from the line, and no doubt that's the difference in how things ended up,” Storer said. “I’d hate to say how many hours we shot free throws for this week, because we've lost quite a few games, in my opinion, from our ability to shoot free throws. I’d like to think it made a difference.”
 
Warren final scoring included Abby Wells (2), Jayda Murray (4), Arnold (6), Delaney Gates (6) and Sarah Pettey (9). 

Team totals for Warren were 16 two-point baskets, five 3-pointers (four by James-McGuire), and they were 8-of-16 from the free-throw line. 

No. 4 seeded Hillsboro will play in the Division IV SE District Semifinals on Wednesday, Feb. 19 against the No. 1 seeded Fairfield-Union Lady Falcons at 6:15 p.m. at Southeastern High School. 

BOX SCORE
WHS    11 09 17 18 — 55
HHS    13 13 14 19 — 59

HILLSBORO (59) — P.Bledsoe 0 (2) 2-2 8, K.Miles 4 (1) 5-6 16, T.Davis 1 (1) 7-7 12, D.Ames 0 (1) 0-0 3, K.Boyd 5 (1) 4-4 18, A.Young 1 (0) 0-0 2. TOTALS: 11 (6) 18-19 59.

WARREN (55) — A.Wells 1 (0) 0-0 2, D.Gates 3 (0) 0-4 6, S.Pettey 4 (0) 1-4 9, J.Murray 2 (0) 0-0 4, R.Arnold 1 (1) 1-2 6, M.James-McGuire 5 (4) 6-6 28. TOTALS: 16 (5) 8-16 55.