Lady Indians improve to 7-1; dominate Jackson

HILLSBORO — For the seventh time in eight games this season, the Hillsboro Lady Indians left the court with a win, and Wednesday evening that seventh win came at the expense of the visiting Jackson Ironladies. 

Hillsboro won the Frontier Athletic Conference game, 64-35, improving their overall record to 7-1 this season and their FAC record to 4-0 as they prepare for a big showdown with the McClain Lady Tigers this Saturday afternoon with early possession of first place on the line, as MHS is also 4-0 in the FAC and 7-1 overall. Last season, McClain won both games against Hillsboro by two points in each game played. 

As for the game on Wednesday, the Lady Indians gave their fans some entertainment as they led 17-9 at the end of the first quarter, then following an 18-8 second quarter, it was Hillsboro leading 35-17 at halftime. 

“You never know how you are going to come out, especially after a couple snow days and a good break between games, and prepping for a different game and then jumping into this one. I was glad we got off to a quick start because that’s what we push, starting off quick and not giving the other team any time to breathe and to get warmed up in any way, so it was absolutely a good start,” HHS head coach Heather Storer said. “We were consistent pretty much every quarter. I would like to have seen us a bit more aggressive, but I’ll take that coming back.”

The first frame for the Lady Indians saw them score first with a steal and layup from Piper Wilkin, followed by a rebound and full-court drive to the hoop for two points by Tylee Davis. Jackson got within a point of tying HHS following three three free throws, but a layup by Annia Young (with the assist from Kobie Miles) put the Lady Indians ahead by three points. 

HHS added to their lead with a layup by Miles at the 4:18 mark, and later HHS scored six consecutive points with a jumper from Davis, a layup by Taylor-Ann Scruggs (with the assist from Davis) and a layup off a steal by Wilkin for a 14-5 lead with 1:18 on the first-quarter clock. 

The Lady Indians scored three more points in the first frame, a 3-pointer by Davis with 44 seconds remaining for what was a 10-point lead at 17-7. JHS ended the frame with the final two points, leaving Hillsboro ahead by eight points. 

In the second frame, Hillsboro started the quarter with a 10-0 run from the 7:41 mark to the 5:55 mark, starting with a basket by Wilkin, followed by a three-point play by Davis, then she followed that with a 3-pointer with 6:16 left on the clock. Following a Jackson timeout, Parker Wilkin scored two points in the paint for a 27-9 HHS lead. 

HHS added points in the quarter from Young, Davis and Miles to take an 18-point halftime lead at 35-17. 

The Lady Indians won the third frame at 15-6 (leading 50-23 after three quarters), and the fourth quarter was theirs as well at 14-12 with Hillsboro leading the frame. 

HHS in the third frame had points scored by Ella Jordan, Miles, Piper Wilkin, Scruggs and Young, as eight of the 15 points scored in the frame were from the free-throw line. HHS in the fourth had points from Miles, Davis, Piper Wilkin and Young. 

Hillsboro was led by Davis earning another double-double this season, scoring 22 points and grabbing 15 rebounds (five offensive) in the win. Davis finished with six two-point baskets, three 3-pointers, and she was also 1-of-1 from the free-throw line, while also gaining four assists and one steal. 

Miles totaled 14 points for Hillsboro, making four two-point buckets, and two 3-pointers. Miles also had one assist, and six steals. 

Young finished with eight points, six rebounds, four steals, one assist and led the team with four blocks. 

Piper Wilkin ended the game with seven points, two rebounds, five assists and six steals. 

Taylor-Ann Scruggs had six points, four rebounds and a block. Teammate Parker Wilkin had four points and two steals. Jordan totaled three points off three free throws, with three rebounds, three assists and one steal. The Lady Indians also saw Kylee-Ann Scruggs collect two rebounds. 

“We had balanced scoring, so it was like, who do you guard?,” Storer said. “We have threats all over the place that we can do what we need to do, and we have kids who stick back, rebound and do what we need them to do. Then we have kids who are shooting well, we have threats on the offensive side for sure.

“Taylor-Ann Scruggs came in and had a pretty nice game. The things her and Annia have been able to come in and do from the post side, they are a big presence in the paint, and their ability to rebound underneath and allow us to maintain possession of the ball offensively, and not allow the other team to have as many offensive boards, is what allows us to stretch.”

Hillsboro’s final totals included 20 two-point baskets, five 3-pointers, and they were 9-of-12 from the free-throw line. 

Jackson was led by Jaylynn Montgomery with nine points, followed by Lauryn Walburn with eight points. The remaining scoring for JHS included: Lillian Mapes (5), Sydney Carpenter (2), Lexi Hughes (3), Adalyn Stone (2), Abby Thompson (2) and Lakyn Saunders (4). 

Totals for the Ironladies were 11 two-point baskets, two 3-pointers and they were 7-of-11 from the free-throw line. 

In the JV game, the Lady Indians won 28-21 in two quarters. Nevaeh Blair led the HHS JV team with nine points, followed by Kylee-Ann Scruggs and Taylor-Ann Scruggs with six points each. Parker Wilkin scored five points and Zoey Page finished with two points. 

Coach Storer spoke about the big showdown with McClain coming up this Saturday with an 11 a.m. JV start with the varsity game to follow. 

“We are excited to play,” Storer said. “It is one of the best rivalry games you can ask for as a coach. It is a cool environment to play another team that is as excited to play you as you are to play them. We just have to prep and get ready like any other game, and we’ll be ready to go and be ready to fight for the league.”

BOX SCORE
JHS    09 08 06 12 — 35
HHS    17 18 15 14 — 64

HILLSBORO (64) —  E.Jordan 0 (0) 3-4 3, K.Miles 4 (2) 0-1 14, T.Davis 6 (3) 1-1 22, Pi.Wilkin 3 (0) 1-2 7, A.Young 3 (0) 2-2 8, Pa.Wilkin 2 (0) 0-0 4, T.Scruggs 3 (0) 0-0 6. TOTALS: 21 (5) 7-10 64.

JACKSON (35) — L.Mapes 2 (0) 1-2 5, S.Carpenter 1 (0) 0-0 2, L.Hughes 0 (1) 0-0 3, A.Stone 1 (0) 0-0 2, A.Thompson 1 (0) 0-0 2, J.Montgomery 4 (0) 1-3 9, L.Walburn 2 (0) 4-4 8, L.Saunders 0 (1) 1-2 4. TOTALS: 11 (2) 7-11 35. 

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