Lady Trojans handle Cheney
By RYAN RICHTER
Sports writer
First-year Lady Trojan coach Dale Honeck knew that talented upperclassmen would be the foundation of this year's Hillsboro basketball team.
Monday night in the season opener against Cheney, Honeck discovered that underclassmen can be counted on, too.
Young players rose to the occasion to help lift the Trojans to a 43-34 victory.
On Friday, the Trojans will have a one-game advantage over Smoky Valley, because the Lady Vikings have yet to play a game.
Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.
The game with Cheney was a foul-plagued contest with a combined 64 free-throws. The fouls kept the game from getting into any type of flow, making 36 minutes seem like an eternity.
"That was ugly for both sides," Honeck said.
With seniors JuliAnne Chisholm and Tina Frick in foul trouble, Candace Weinbrenner, Amy Neufeld, and Dakota Kaufman rose to the occasion, combining for 31 points.
Weinbrenner, a freshman in her first high school game, scored 11 points.
"Weinbrenner played about as good as I thought a freshman could have possibly played out there tonight," said Honeck.
Despite carrying four fouls, Chisholm finished with a game-high 14 points.
The Trojans took a 15-14 lead into the locker room at halftime.
With the score tied at 29 to start the fourth quarter, the Trojans scored five straight points to pull away. Cheney went more than four minutes without a basket in the final period.
"We got some things going in the fourth quarter," Honeck said. "We made some buckets and some freethrows.
"When the chips were down, and we had the girls who should have been leading us on the bench, those (underclassmen) brought us back, and gave us the lead."
