VIROQUA — A busy week resulted in three straight wins for the surging Hillsboro girls’ basketball team.
The Lady Tigers wrapped up their perfect 3–0 week Friday night with a 52–43 non-conference win at Viroqua.
Hillsboro took control of the game with a 16–7 third-quarter run.
The Tigers seemed to be in control throughout the contest, but the Blackhawks (2–17) always stayed within striking distance thanks in large part to six 3-pointers.
But Hillsboro’s full-court press caused problems all night forcing Viroqua into costly turnovers at critical junctures of the game.
The Tigers were again without freshman forward Sydney Johnson, who missed all three games last week after suffering a concussion at Cashton on Feb. 6.
Junior guard Destiny Shore led three Tigers in double figures with a game-high 16 points. She also grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds.
Junior center Morgan Huntley added 12 points and seven boards, while junior guard Mackenzie Sullivan finished with 11 points, six rebounds, six steals and three assists.
Hillsboro 65, Brookwood 60
Last Thursday Hillsboro held off a furious fourth-quarter rally to hold on for a 65–60 SBC victory over visiting Brookwood (14–5, 9–3 SBC).
Huntley scored a career-high 26 points, while Shore added 25 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and made 5 of 6 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter to close out the win.
Brianna Nelson scored 12 of her team-high 22 points in the fourth quarter to lead Brookwood’s comeback as the Falcons pulled within five by outscoring the Tigers 27–18 in the final eight minutes.
“Any week that you can get three wins is a great week,” said Hillsboro first-year coach Scott Egan. “ It was obviously topped by our win against Brookwood. Our girls had came extremely close to beating a top team in our conference, but always came up a little short. It was a good feeling to see them finally go over the top and win a big game like that. It should boost our confidence going forth.”
Hillsboro 65, Weston 13 (NC)
Last Tuesday Hillsboro routed visiting Weston 65–13 in a non-conference game. Eight different Tigers scored in the win led by Huntley’s 14 points.
Hillsboro held Weston to just four points in the second half and limited the Eagles (1–17) to just five made baskets in the game.
“I’ve been very pleased with the girls play as of late,” said Egan. “They are finally getting a grasp on our offense and are working hard on the defensive end. They are really starting to do the little things now too, like boxing out, setting good screen and waiting for good screens, and hustling after loose balls. It looks like we are peaking at the right time, but we will have to continue to play at this level if we expect to do anything in the tournament.”
Hillsboro improved to 12–8 overall and is now 6–6 in the Scenic Bluffs with two games remaining in the regular season.
The Tigers traveled to Wonewoc–Center (7–12, 4–8) Tuesday night and will now close out the regular season Friday at home against Royall (7–12, 4–8).
Hillsboro earned the two seed in the Cashton Regional and will open the WIAA Divisio 5 playoffs Tuesday at home against seven-seed Kickapoo (2–18).
“A two seed was where I expected our team to be after looking at how all the other teams in our region had performed,” said Egan. “Cashton was the obvious one seed to me because of their wins against us, their strong conference record, and their great overall record. After Cashton, we were the only other team with a winning record in the region.”
