ONTARIO — Hillsboro went toe-to-toe with the best team in the Scenic Bluffs Conference and led the host Brookwood Falcons entering the fourth quarter.
But senior guard Leticya Madrigal scored nine of her 13 points in the final period to rally Brookwood to a 51–46 victory its eighth straight win.
“We played our best game to date against a very talented team,” said Hillsboro head coach Ron Benish. “Playing Brookwood at their place and battling them as we did is a great effort and I was really proud of our determination.”
Despite a season-best effort to which Benish alluded, Hillsboro (11–2, 4–2 SBC) was unable to hold off the once-beaten Falcons (9–1, 7–0).
Brookwood actually jumped out to the early first quarter lead and held a 27–21 halftime advantage.
Led by senior forward Sami Levy, the Tigers dominated the third quarter outscoring the Falcons 15–7 in the period to take a 36–34 lead entering the final eight minutes of play.
The teams battled back and forth for the next five minutes, until Brookwood took a lead it would never relinquish.
Brookwood made 10 of 13 free throws in the game to close out the win.
Junior Amber Brueggen scored a game-high 17 points to lead the Falcons.
Levy led the Tigers with 20 points and six rebounds. Sophomore Destiny Shore added 10 points and senior Macy Mislivecek contributed nine points, a team-high seven rebounds and three assists.
Thursday night, Hillsboro bounced back with a 58–52 victory over Royall.
Shore buried four 3-pointers and scored a career-high 20 points to lead the Tigers to victory.
Mislivecek added 12 points, while Levy posted a double–double of 12 points and 10 rebounds.
The Tigers jumped out to a 16–2 first quarter lead, but Royall battled back to make it a game.
The Panthers came out red hot in the third quarter scoring 20 pointers by hitting five 3- pointers in the quarter to pull within five points at 40–35.
Royall continued its hot shooting in the fourth quarter and tied the score at 46-all midway through the final period.
Royall made 7 of 20 three-point attempts in the game, including six makes in the second half.
But Hillsboro regained control and made 8 of 11 free throws to close out the narrow victory.
“This win was a nice come back for girls after a tough road loss at Brookwood,” said Benish.
Hillsboro’s non-conference game at Weston was postponed last Monday due to freezing temperatures and will be made up at a later date. The Tigers will travel to New Lisbon on Friday.