Lady Trojans overwhelm Ellsworth
By JENNIFER WILSON
News editor
The Lady Trojans were rested, and it showed.
After a much-needed weeklong break, the Hillsboro girls' basketball team began competition at the Southeast of Saline Invitational Tournament by walloping Ellsworth 55-12.
The game took place Monday afternoon, and it was the first for the annual tournament held at the Southeast of Saline campus in Gypsum. Hillsboro is seeded first.
Hillsboro's defensive pressure overwhelmed Ellsworth in the second half, with many Bearcat possessions ending with a Hillsboro steal and subsequent basket. Hillsboro racked up a total of 25 steals that afternoon.
"That's probably the best man-to-man defense I've seen them play," said Head Coach Becky Carlson.
Both teams started the game slowly. Ellsworth put the first points on the board, and for the majority of the first quarter the Bearcats managed to keep the Trojan offense quiet with an effective zone defense.
Hillsboro couldn't work the ball inside, but they also couldn't make shots from the perimeter. The Trojans only made one of nine three-point attempts during the game.
With two and half minutes remaining in the quarter, the score was at a stagnant 2-0. Then Shannon Kroeker drove into the lane, made the shot and was fouled. After making the free throw, Hillsboro had its first points of the night and a 3-2 lead. Another quick two after an offensive rebound by Sara Thiessen gave the Trojans five points.
Hillsboro ended the quarter with an 8-3 lead.
The Trojans found an offensive rhythm in the second quarter as they continued to push the lead higher. Robyn Penner's turnaround jumper in the lane made the lead 12-3, and another Kroeker steal and basket gave Hillsboro a 14-5 lead. They would go into halftime leading 18-8.
The second half wasn't pretty for Ellsworth. Hillsboro outscored the Bearcats 37-4 in the second half. The relentless Trojan defense continued to steal the ball again and again — that is, when they weren't causing ten-second violations for their opponents.
Ellsworth's misery wouldn't end until the final buzzer sounded their 55-12 loss.
The scoring was pretty even across the board for the Trojans, with five players each scoring seven points or more. Sara Thiessen had a strong night, with 11 rebounds to complement her seven points and three steals.
Point guard Jill Hein showed that she's back in the groove again, making three of six field goals and dishing some impressive assists. Andrea Peachey led the team in steals with seven.
"Robyn and Andrea did a great job coming off the bench," Carlson said.
The Trojans next face Salina South on Thursday night at 8 p.m. in a rematch of last year's title game, which Hillsboro won. Salina South defeated Abilene Monday evening 47-32 to advance.
Eight schools in all are participating in the tournament. Excluding Hillsboro, they are: Concordia, seeded second; Southeast of Saline, seeded third; Abilene, fourth; Salina South, fifth; Ell-Saline, sixth; Junction City, seventh; and Ellsworth, eighth.
hillsboro 55, ellsworth 12
S. Kroeker 12, J. Jost 2, R. Penner 11, A. Peachey 8, J. Hein 7, S. Thiessen 7, S. Estelle 2, H. Lindsay 6. Totals 23-36 1-9 6-9 55.
