SEASON LID LIFTER … Hilltop’s Molly Dickinson drives to the hoop during the season opener against Fayette.
PHOTOS BY JACOB KESSLER / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
DIALING LONG DISTANCE … Monroe Simon lets fly from deep for the Eagles in a 43-39 win at Hilltop.
By: Joe Blystone
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
WEST UNITY (November 21, 2025) – After shooting just 21% in the first half and being down 10 at the break at Hilltop, Fayette needed an IV bag of offense.
The Eagles received that second-half infusion of energy from sophomore Kennedy Kunkle, then a go-ahead-for-good triple from Kelsie Storrs with a minute left in the game to claim a 43-39 win over the Cadets in the lid lifter for both teams on the 2025-26 season.
“We did a better job on defense in the second half,” Fayette coach Travis Arkwright said about the rebound from the double-digit deficit.
“We got them to go where we wanted them to go. We got some stops, and the speed of our defense helped us get some easy shots at the other end of the floor.”
“There were times we forced jumpers, and that made our defense even more important to get us some better opportunities.”
Addison Schang’s layup off a turnover, along with Willow Mitchell’s leaner, gave Fayette an early 5-0, but for the next 14:36 of the half, the Eagles went just 3-22 from the floor.
Meanwhile, Hilltop scored 11 of the next 12 points in the first to take a five-point lead. Sophia Crossgrove’s three-point play, along with a layup off Molly Dickinson’s lob, and a stick back by Kelsy Connolly, helped Hilltop to an 11-6 lead after a quarter.
Schang’s step through for a layup knotted the count 11-11 with 6:49 to go in the half, but Kenley Routt’s basket and a left-hand move by Crossgrove sent the Cadets back on top, 15-11.
Monroe Simon drained a long triple to get the Eagles within 16-15, but the Cadets finished the half on a 9-0 run that featured two Crossgrove buckets, another by Routt, and Connolly’s triple with a second to go that made it 25-15.
Hilltop shot 43% in the first half to cover up 18 turnovers, but after the break, that turnover total continued to mount.
Nine times in the third quarter, the Cadets coughed up the ball, and this time, the Eagles began to make them pay, mostly in the person of Kunkle.
After riding the pine in the first half, saddled with foul trouble, the sophomore post scored six straight points in the span of 75 seconds to bring the Eagles from 10 down to a four-point deficit with 5:31 left in the third.
“Ken’s that type of player right there,” Arkwright expressed. “She is no longer a freshman, and she’s playing AAU this summer, which has given her a lot of benefits, especially on the offensive end.’
“She’s our biggest girl by far, so we have to take advantage of her physicality and how athletic she is.”
Simon rammed home a deep triple to chop the Cadet lead to 27-26, and after a back-and-forth last five minutes, Hilltop maintained that one-point lead at 32-31 entering the fourth.
Storrs stuck a triple to start the last stanza to regain the Eagles’ first lead since early in the game. Kunkle’s second chance hoop made it 36-32.
However, the Cadets came back as Dickinson weaved her way through the paint for a score, then fed Crossgrove for the tying bucket before flying through the key again for a bucket that put the Cadets back up 38-36 with 3:12 to go.
Mesa Gorsuch hit her only bucket of the game on an inbounds feed from Mitchell to forge a tie at the 1:41 mark, and after the Cadets’ 35th turnover of the night, Storrs made good in a big way.
On yet another inbounds play, Mitchell found Storrs in the right corner with space, and the Eagles’ “Miss Big Shot” didn’t blink, hitting nothing but the bottom of the well as she splashed home the go-ahead three-pointer from the corner with exactly a minute left.
“It was a great look by Willow to throw it on the backside, and it’s always an option for Kels on the backside,” Arkwright explained of the game-winning shot.
“We are never going to say we are sorry for 1-0. It looked like the first game of the year, and we talked about them too, how they lost (All-District player) Libbie (Baker), but there are still plenty of girls back from that regional team, so you can’t just overlook a team like that. They are a lot bigger than they look on film.”
A pair of hurried shots and a scrum on the floor put Dickinson on the foul stripe with 16.3 left, where she split the pair to keep a 41-39 Eagle advantage.
Schang was fouled four ticks later and made good on both to put the Eagles ahead two possessions, where a late Hilltop chance went awry.
Crossgrove led all scorers on the night with 15, while Dickinson added 10. Schang led a balanced Fayette attack with 12. Kunkle scored all nine of her points in the second half.
The Eagles ended up 12-53 from the field for just 23%. Hilltop shot 38 percent but only got off 40 attempts, thanks to the 35 turnovers.
FAYETTE (43) – Schang 12; Storrs 7; Simon 7; Mitchell 5; Williams 0; Gorsuch 3; Kunkle 9; Totals: 8-4-15 – 43
HILLTOP (39) – L. Rodriguez 3; Dickinson 10; Routt 4; N. Rodriguez 0; Nofziger 2; Connolly 5; Crossgrove 15; Totals: 14-1-8 – 39
FHS 6 9 16 12 – 43
HHS 11 14 7 7 – 39