Lady Trojans down Panthers
By RYAN RICHTER
Sports Writer
Mentioning the defending 3A state champion Wichita Collegiate Lady Spartans to the Lady Trojan players leaves them wide-eyed.
Tuesday's date against the hosting Spartans had been circled on Hillsboro coach Dale Honeck's calendar since before the season began and was likely to be a measuring stick for where the Trojans need to be.
But the Trojans still had one test to pass Friday night in Hillsboro before Collegiate — the feisty Nickerson Lady Panthers.
As JuliAnne Chisholm rolls, so do the Trojans, and on Friday, Chisholm remained Hillsboro's go-to-player, delivering a season-high 22 points to help the Trojans (4-1) take the Panthers, 45-34.
"When she (Chisholm) plays well, we all play a little higher, and a little better," said Honeck. "She's not the only player on the team, but she can carry you on her back for a while."
The Spartans roll into Tuesday's game fresh off a 59-44 win over the Halstead Lady Dragons paced by Camri Phox's game-high 16 points.
With 13 points in the first half and nine in the first quarter from Chisholm alone, the Trojans were able to maintain the lead through most of the contest.
A swarming Hillsboro defense forced the Panthers to give up 11 turnovers, and five of those were converted into baskets, giving the Trojans a 10-point lift.
Chisholm's basket with 1:53 left in the first quarter led to a 15-10 lead at the end of the period.
In the second quarter, the Trojans limited Nickerson to a pair of field goals as their lead increased to 19-10 after a 9-0 run.
But Hillsboro went the last two minutes of the first half without scoring and the Panthers narrowed the deficit to 23-18 at halftime.
With Nickerson still hanging around, the Trojans got a spark from freshman Samantha Soyez, who chipped in eight points, all coming in the second half.
Krystal Smith's basket with just inside five minutes left in the third quarter brought Nickerson to within three, 25-22. But the Trojans scored eight consecutive points to take a 36-24 lead to start the fourth quarter.
Soyez hit a jumper for the first basket of the fourth quarter to give Hillsboro its largest lead of 14 points, 38-24.
"Nickerson is a better team than I thought it was going to be," Honeck said. "We held them to 34 points, I guess the defense did OK. I thought the girls all played up to expectations. Now the big one is coming up for us. Every time you mention Collegiate, it's a different mind set."
After the Collegiate game Tuesday, the Trojans are on holiday until their Jan. 5 game at home against Hoisington.
