HILLSBORO — Coach Scott Egan’s Lady Tigers gave conference-leading Bangor a run for its money in Thursday night’s SBC clash at Hillsboro High School, but the visiting Cardinals took advantage of a poor shooting night by the home team.

The Tigers shot just 3 of 21 from the 3-point line and also struggled at the free throw line (5 of 12) in a five-point 49–44 loss on Senior Night.

Bangor, ranked fifth in Division 5, improved to 19–1 overall and 11–1 in the SBC, clinching at least a share of a second-straight conference title.

Hillsboro fell to 14–6 overall and 7–5 in the conference. The Tigers are now tied with Royall (12–8, 7–5 SBC) for third place in the league.

The first half was back and forth, each team taking a lead several times. It looked like Hillsboro would go into the half up one point until Emma Wittmerhaus hit a buzzer beating shot as time expired to give Bangor a 28–27 halftime lead.

The Tigers came out a little slow in the second half and fell behind by as many as eight midway through the half.

Hillsboro cut the deficit to four points on a number of occasions, but every time the Tigers looked like they would pull closer, Wittmerhaus hit a big shot for Bangor.

The sophomore forward made three 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 20 points.
Hillsboro still had many chances late in the game as Bangor missed some late free throws with the lead at five.

Sophomore Sydney Johnson had two open looks from the 3-point line that just wouldn’t go down, and Bangor was able to escape with a win.

Ashlie Lockington added 11 points. Jaclynn Freit had 10.

Hillsboro held Bangor’s second-leading scorer, Alea Fortier, scoreless. Fortier entered the game averaging 11.4 points per game.

Senior center Morgan Huntley led the Tigers with 12 points, eight rebounds and three blocks.

Senior guard Destiny Shore added 10 points and  two steals. Johnson finished with eight points and four rebounds.

Hillsboro 46, Brookwood 38

Hillsboro avenged an earlier loss to host Brookwood Feb. 12, rallying from a 27-24 halftime deficit  to defeat the Falcons, 46-38, in a makeup game that was postponed from Feb. 2 due to snow.

Huntley scored 14 points, Shore 13 and Johnson 11 for the Tigers.

Hillsboro 56, Weston 6 (NC)

Hillsboro held host Weston to two first-half points Feb. 8  in a 56–6 non-conference victory.

Johnson had 17 points and eight steals in the win.

Senior Mackenzie Sullivan added 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Huntley chipped in seven points and seven boards.

The Tigers traveled to Necedah (12–8, 6–6) on Tuesday night and will now close out the regular season on Friday at New Lisbon (6–13, 2–10). (UPDATE: Hillsboro defeated Necedah, 56-38, sweeping the season series from the Cardinals–but at a price. Shore suffered a knee injury. X-rays revealed no broken bones, but further tests could not be performed due to swelling. Johnson led Hillsboro with 15 points, and Huntley contributed 13, as the Tigers led by double digits for most of the contest.)

Hillsboro earned the three-seed in its half of the West Salem Sectional and will host Granton (1–19) in a regional quarterfinal on Tuesday at 7 p.m.