Lady Indians end season with sectional loss to Circleville
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
FRANKFORT — The defense of the Hillsboro Lady Indians wasn't enough to extend their season on Monday night. HHS, unable to get shots to fall on the offensive side, bowed out of the Division II SE District Sectional opener by a 33-24 score against the Circleville Lady Tigers at Adena High School.
The Lady Indians (4-17), though holding their opponent to just 33 points, didn't fare as well offensively as they did on defense, shooting 19 percent from the field (8-of-42), while the Lady Tigers (5-16) were 11-of-36 for 30 percent.
"Circleville is a good man-to-man defensive team, and we knew that going in," HHS head coach JR Moberly said. "We've struggled offensively this year, and we knew that was going to be the challenge. Offensively, it has been a chore all year. Some of the 19-percent shooting, we were rushing shots because we were trying to get back into it.
[[In-content Ad]]"I think our kids did a great job defensively. We gave up a few transition baskets when we were trying to press and get back into the game. After the first quarter, defensively, I thought we did a great job."
Leading HHS in scoring were freshmen Trista Rhodes with 10 points and Kaylynn Bell with six points.
"Our kids really got after it … I can't say enough about the character of this team. They could have quit, but they played hard," Moberly said. "All-in-all, these kids … they have fought, they've battled."
As for the Lady Tigers, senior Merrie McGinnis led all scorers with 18 points, scoring 11 points in the first half.
HHS, who was the away team, trailed 10-2 after the first quarter and 16-6 at the half as freshman Hannah Kibler scored the first-quarter points for the Lady Indians with 1:17 left in the opening frame. CHS scored the game's first eight points.
The second-quarter scoring for the Lady Indians came from senior Danielle Gillman and Bell.
Hillsboro started to improve in the third quarter, scoring eight points, starting with a jumper by Rhodes, cutting the Circleville lead in half at 16-8. Following four points by the Lady Tigers in just over 2:00, senior Carey Juillerat, who tallied four points, stole the ball off an inbounds pass, passing to Rhodes for two points, putting HHS down 20-10 with 2:38 left on the clock.
Following Rhodes' points, Juillerat sank a free throw, and with 1:16 left in the third, Rhodes made two free throws, bringing HHS within seven points of tying the score.
Circleville's Darbi Brewer scored four points in the final minute, offsetting a free throw by Juillerat, putting the Lady Tigers ahead 24-14 after three quarters.
HHS outscored CHS in the final frame at 10-9, with HHS getting to within six points at 30-24 with 56 seconds left in the game.
Scoring for HHS in the fourth were Juillerat, Bell and Rhodes. Juillerat was first to score in the fourth with a layup at the 6:42 mark, and with 4:03 left on the clock, Bell sank two free throws.
After the Lady Tigers scored three straight points, Bell nailed a jumper, inching HHS closer to Circleville at 28-20 with 1:39 left in regulation.
Again, Circleville made it a 10-point game, but two free throws by Rhodes, followed by a steal and jumper by the freshman, brought HHS within six points of the CHS score, but that would be all for the Lady Indians during the 2011-12 season.
From the free-throw line, the Lady Indians were 8-of-13 (61 percent). CHS was 11-of-22 (50 percent).
Moberly spoke about his players being motivated for next season.
"Our kids are upset now. They are upset when they get beat because they expect to compete, and they believe they have a chance to win," he said. "Before you can make some of those bigger steps, you have to make that first step, and our kids ... they believe.
"A lot of that comes from our seniors, who've been through a whole lot of different scenarios, and they've pushed our kids. Our younger kids too, they've come out and battled, and they too are willing to lead by example. It's been a great group of kids, and hopefully we can build off this for next year."
Playing in their final game for the Lady Indians were seniors Carey Juillerat, Danielle Gillman and Whitney Earley.
"All three of the seniors have played big roles for us this year," Moberly said. "Carey has been our defensive stopper and has done a super job for us. Danielle had a couple big games this year when we've needed them the most, and Whitney has done whatever we've asked of her. Whether it's been playing a forward spot, a guard spot … she's done a nice job and played some nice defense for us.
"Most of all, the three of them have battled every day, and they've not let our kids quit, and that's the big thing."
The win sends the Lady Tigers (5-16) to a sectional final game on Saturday, against the No. 1-seeded Miami Trace Lady Panthers at AHS, with the tip-off at 1 p.m.
BOX SCORE
SCORE BY QUARTERS
HHS 02 04 08 10 — 24
CHS 10 06 08 09 — 33
INDIVIDUAL STATS
CHS (33)
D.Brewer 2 (0) 1-4 5
A.Knul 0 (0) 1-2 1
M.McGinnis 6 (0) 6-7 18
R.Branham 1 (0) 3-9 5
C.Weiss 1 (0) 0-0 2
S.Burns 1 (0) 0-0 2
TOTALS: 11 (0) 11-22 33
HHS (24)
D.Gillman 1 (0) 0-0 2
T.Rhodes 3 (0) 4-5 10
H.Kibler 1 (0) 0-0 2
C.Juillerat 1 (0) 2-6 4
K.Bell 2 (0) 2-2 6
TOTALS: 8 (0) 8-13 24
The Lady Indians (4-17), though holding their opponent to just 33 points, didn't fare as well offensively as they did on defense, shooting 19 percent from the field (8-of-42), while the Lady Tigers (5-16) were 11-of-36 for 30 percent.
"Circleville is a good man-to-man defensive team, and we knew that going in," HHS head coach JR Moberly said. "We've struggled offensively this year, and we knew that was going to be the challenge. Offensively, it has been a chore all year. Some of the 19-percent shooting, we were rushing shots because we were trying to get back into it.
[[In-content Ad]]"I think our kids did a great job defensively. We gave up a few transition baskets when we were trying to press and get back into the game. After the first quarter, defensively, I thought we did a great job."
Leading HHS in scoring were freshmen Trista Rhodes with 10 points and Kaylynn Bell with six points.
"Our kids really got after it … I can't say enough about the character of this team. They could have quit, but they played hard," Moberly said. "All-in-all, these kids … they have fought, they've battled."
As for the Lady Tigers, senior Merrie McGinnis led all scorers with 18 points, scoring 11 points in the first half.
HHS, who was the away team, trailed 10-2 after the first quarter and 16-6 at the half as freshman Hannah Kibler scored the first-quarter points for the Lady Indians with 1:17 left in the opening frame. CHS scored the game's first eight points.
The second-quarter scoring for the Lady Indians came from senior Danielle Gillman and Bell.
Hillsboro started to improve in the third quarter, scoring eight points, starting with a jumper by Rhodes, cutting the Circleville lead in half at 16-8. Following four points by the Lady Tigers in just over 2:00, senior Carey Juillerat, who tallied four points, stole the ball off an inbounds pass, passing to Rhodes for two points, putting HHS down 20-10 with 2:38 left on the clock.
Following Rhodes' points, Juillerat sank a free throw, and with 1:16 left in the third, Rhodes made two free throws, bringing HHS within seven points of tying the score.
Circleville's Darbi Brewer scored four points in the final minute, offsetting a free throw by Juillerat, putting the Lady Tigers ahead 24-14 after three quarters.
HHS outscored CHS in the final frame at 10-9, with HHS getting to within six points at 30-24 with 56 seconds left in the game.
Scoring for HHS in the fourth were Juillerat, Bell and Rhodes. Juillerat was first to score in the fourth with a layup at the 6:42 mark, and with 4:03 left on the clock, Bell sank two free throws.
After the Lady Tigers scored three straight points, Bell nailed a jumper, inching HHS closer to Circleville at 28-20 with 1:39 left in regulation.
Again, Circleville made it a 10-point game, but two free throws by Rhodes, followed by a steal and jumper by the freshman, brought HHS within six points of the CHS score, but that would be all for the Lady Indians during the 2011-12 season.
From the free-throw line, the Lady Indians were 8-of-13 (61 percent). CHS was 11-of-22 (50 percent).
Moberly spoke about his players being motivated for next season.
"Our kids are upset now. They are upset when they get beat because they expect to compete, and they believe they have a chance to win," he said. "Before you can make some of those bigger steps, you have to make that first step, and our kids ... they believe.
"A lot of that comes from our seniors, who've been through a whole lot of different scenarios, and they've pushed our kids. Our younger kids too, they've come out and battled, and they too are willing to lead by example. It's been a great group of kids, and hopefully we can build off this for next year."
Playing in their final game for the Lady Indians were seniors Carey Juillerat, Danielle Gillman and Whitney Earley.
"All three of the seniors have played big roles for us this year," Moberly said. "Carey has been our defensive stopper and has done a super job for us. Danielle had a couple big games this year when we've needed them the most, and Whitney has done whatever we've asked of her. Whether it's been playing a forward spot, a guard spot … she's done a nice job and played some nice defense for us.
"Most of all, the three of them have battled every day, and they've not let our kids quit, and that's the big thing."
The win sends the Lady Tigers (5-16) to a sectional final game on Saturday, against the No. 1-seeded Miami Trace Lady Panthers at AHS, with the tip-off at 1 p.m.
BOX SCORE
SCORE BY QUARTERS
HHS 02 04 08 10 — 24
CHS 10 06 08 09 — 33
INDIVIDUAL STATS
CHS (33)
D.Brewer 2 (0) 1-4 5
A.Knul 0 (0) 1-2 1
M.McGinnis 6 (0) 6-7 18
R.Branham 1 (0) 3-9 5
C.Weiss 1 (0) 0-0 2
S.Burns 1 (0) 0-0 2
TOTALS: 11 (0) 11-22 33
HHS (24)
D.Gillman 1 (0) 0-0 2
T.Rhodes 3 (0) 4-5 10
H.Kibler 1 (0) 0-0 2
C.Juillerat 1 (0) 2-6 4
K.Bell 2 (0) 2-2 6
TOTALS: 8 (0) 8-13 24