Hillsboro boys, Marion girls win
Staff writer
Those looking for a fantastic 2017 finale for Marion County basketball had to look elsewhere Tuesday night instead of Hillsboro-Marion at Hillsboro.
In a competitive but ugly opener, the Lady Warriors held off the hosting Trojans, 36-35, snapping Hillsboro’s four-game winning streak.
Both teams enter the holiday break at 4-2.
In the nightcap, Hillsboro pulled away down the stretch to top the Warriors 53-41.
The win lifts the Trojans to 5-1 on the year while Marion falls to 2-4.
Plagued by a combined 47 turnovers, neither the Lady Warriors nor Trojans extended the lead any further than five points.
That allowed easy transition baskets, which kept the game close, with the Trojans taking advantage the first half, and Marion using it the second.
“It wasn’t our best ball-handling game, but we were able to do enough to win,” Lady Warrior coach Kelly Robson said.
The Lady Trojans suffered through an 11-of-39 shooting night.
In the end, the Warriors turned it over to Kourtney Hansen to put the game away and the senior got better than half her game-high 13 points from the free-throw line.
Hillsboro’s Sienna Kaufman had a team-high 8 points, with Abby Sechrist and Teegan Werth combining for 14 with seven each.
Marion was hanging around the first quarter in the boys’ finale, but an 8-0 Trojan run helped Hillsboro to a 25-19 halftime lead.
A 9-0 run the third quarter more less put the game out of reach for Marion with foul trouble limiting the Warriors play for rebounds.
Darian Ratzlaff scored a game-high 20 points, including a quartet of threes while Elias Werth added 13.
“I don’t know how many shots we missed in a row the first half, but the thing I was proud of most is we kept playing,” Trojan coach Darrel Knoll said.
Evann Heidebrecht scored a team-high 14 points and Sam Zinn added 10 for Marion.
Last modified Dec. 21, 2017