Trojans take third at tournament
By JENNIFER WILSON
News editor
They just couldn't miss.
The Lady Trojans drained five of seven three-point shots, with three of those coming from point guard Jill Hein. From two-point range, the team made 59 percent of its shots.
When the game was over, Hillsboro had hit 61 percent of their shots — their highest percentage of the season — in a 53-48 win over Junction City that grabbed the Lady Trojans third place in the Southeast of Saline Invitational Tournament Friday night. Plenty of Hillsboro fans and students were on hand for the contest.
Although they were held to an uncharacteristic 17 rebounds, the team capitalized on excellent shooting to defeat a bigger Bluejay team that earlier upset second-seed Concordia in the first round of the tournament.
Amber Hefley jump-started her team in the first quarter, making two shots beyond the arc to give Hillsboro a 12-11 lead with 2:50 left in the period. They led by one, 14-13, at the end of the quarter.
In the second quarter, the Trojans began to combine a strong inside game to complement their outside one. With just under four minutes remaining in the quarter, an inside pass to a wide-open Shannon Kroeker made the Trojan lead 21-17.
Junction City's 5-10 forward Dee Ivory proved a force to reckon with inside, causing Head Coach Becky Carlson to give Hillsboro's 6-0 sophomore Katie Fast some minutes as the half wound down. The teams went into halftime with the Trojans claiming a narrow 25-24 lead.
The third quarter saw Junction City asserting its rebounding prowess, grabbing every possible Trojan miss. But Hillsboro's outside shooting continued to propel them ahead, and the Trojans held a 42-38 lead heading into the final quarter.
Then things got a little tighter. A tenacious Junction City team continued to hang on for dear life, and with 5:35 left in the game, the Bluejays had the chance to tie with a pair of free throws.
They missed the foul shots, but came back downcourt on the next possession for a two-point basket, tying the score at 44. A minute and a half later, Junction City took at 47-46 lead, and with three minutes remaining, they'd pushed their lead up to 48-46.
Kroeker came to the rescue. With 2:46 left, the senior stepped to the foul line and sank two, tying the score at 48.
And with just 36.8 seconds left, Hefley sank a clutch three, giving Hillsboro a 51-48 lead and making it a two-possession game.
Another easy two inside by Kroeker and the game was over — Hillsboro won 53-48.
Kroeker had a monster game for the Trojans, scoring 22 points and grabbing five rebounds.
After Thursday night's heartbreaking 45-28 loss to Salina South, in which the Trojans shot just 27 percent from the field, fans may have wondered if the team could bounce back and take care of business for Friday night's game.
They did — just like Head Coach Becky Carlson knew they would.
"I know these girls' character, and I knew they would come back," she said.
To combat Junction City's inside game, Carlson switched her team's normal man-to-man defense to a zone. This forced the Bluejays to take more perimeter shots.
"Toward the end, we went to a zone, because they don't look for that outside shot much," Carlson said. "I think that frustrated them."
HILLSBORO 53, JUNCTION CITY 48
Junction City
Osbourn 2-6 5-5 9, Menton 1-1 0-0 2, buchanan 3-6 1-2 8, Day 6-12 3-4 15, Lewis 3-4 0-0 6, Herring 1-2 0-1 2, Faulkner 1-1 0-0 2, Ivory 1-2 2-4 4. Totals 18-34 11-16 48.
Hillsboro
Jost 0-1 0-0 0, Kroeker 9-11 4-4 22, Hein 4-6 0-1 11, Thiessen 1-1 0-2 2, Hefley 5-7 0-0 12, Peachey 0-2 0-0 0, Penner 3-5 0-0 0, Lindsay 0-1 0-0 0, Estelle 0-1 0-0 0, Fast 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-36 4-7 53.
