(November 28, 2014) – WEST UNITY: Inviting the Tigers into their home arena, the Hilltop Junior Varsity girls weren’t very gracious hosts.
The Lady Cadets controlled the game against the girls from Liberty Center, laying claim to a decisive 27-14 victory. The win comes in their first match-up of the season, and represents a win by the Buckeye Border Conference over the larger North Western Ohio Athletic League. It was Hilltop who came up big in this game, however.
It was defense that ruled the night for the Cadets. Allowing only 3 points in the first half, including just a single point in the first quarter, the game was already out of question by the time the visiting Lady Tigers found something of a rhythm on offense. Thanks mostly to the production of a single Liberty Center player, an 11 point second half was able to make the game seem closer than it appeared to be on the final scoreboard. Said player, Leatherman, put up half of the Tigers’ final output, totaling 7 points on her own.
Two players on the hometown Cadets’ roster bested that feat. Junior Julia Dunson lead all scorers with 9 points on the evening. Teammate Abby Schaper, a sophomore, came close to matching that production, scoring 8 points herself.
As a team, Hilltop was quite consistent with their scoring. After making 6 points in the first quarter, the youthful squad followed up by scoring 7 in the last three periods. Liberty Center never put up more than 6 points in any quarter.
This victory was a complete one for the Lady Cadets. They dominated each phase of the game. Such performances promise a bright future for the Hilltop program.