(PHOTOS BY JACOB KESSLER / THE VILLAGE REPORTER)
JUMPER … Evergreen’s Bailey Lumbrezer takes a baseline jumper during Tuesday’s nonleague game with Hilltop. VIEW 133 PHOTOS OF THIS CONTEST FOR FREE AT WWW.THEVILLAGEREPORTER.COM
STILL UNDEFEATED … Molly Dickinson moves the ball in the Cadets’ 36-33 win at Evergreen to improve to 15-0 on the season.
By: Joe Blystone
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
METAMORA (January 14, 2025) – There are nights when you don’t shoot free throws well. There are games where you don’t shoot the three-ball well. And there are nights you flat out just don’t play well.
But when you are undefeated, you find a way to gut out a win and Hilltop did just that, overcoming Evergreen in the fourth quarter to take a 36-33 road win to climb to 15-0 on the season.
“We survived bad foul shooting and three-point shooting tonight,” Cadet coach Troy Grime said. “The foul shooting, it was almost like it was contagious in a bad way.”
“The three-point shooting, we had clean looks during the course of the game when we moved the ball better but they, well, we had a lot of shots that didn’t even draw iron.”
“We have had a lot of close ones lately and found a way to pull them out. This team is resilient, that is the best word to use.”
“We are going to have to win games playing defense some nights because when you struggle on offense, that’s what wins games, and they busted their tails defensively tonight.”
Bailey Lumbrezer’s three-pointer and Lanae Manz’ basket gave Evergreen an early 5-0 lead but Libbie Baker scored six of Hilltop’s nine first quarter points to give the Cadets a two-point lead after eight minutes.
It took over three minutes for anyone to score in the second, and after Kennedy Emmitt knotted up the score for the Vikings, Kennedy Bailey answered right back to regain a Cadet lead that Baker extended to 17-13 with back-to-back buckets late in the second.
Hilltop had a number of chances to create a double digit lead in the first half but was hampered by 3/11 from the foul line.
That poor free throw shooting continued in the third, and while the Cadets were 1/4 from the stripe, Evergreen fought back to take a late third quarter lead.
Lyla Radel’s 2/2 from the stripe with 3:11 left again brought the Vikings even at 22-22, then Emmitt’s change of hands drive gave Evergreen a 24-22 lead with 1:58 to go.
It would be nearly eight minutes before Evergreen scored again. In the meantime, the Cadets tallied up the next 11 points.
Molly Dickinson tied the game before the end of the third, then Kelsy Connolly came up big in the fourth.
The 5’7 sophomore got inside for one hoop, then after Baker hit 2/2 from the line, Connolly drilled the Cadets only triple of the night to give Hilltop a 33-24 lead with 3:40 on the clock.
“She hit the big one at the right time,” Grime exclaimed. “Gosh we needed it too. We were struggling out there. A lot of times we weren’t even hitting the rim, but we keep telling them, ‘keep shooting, it’ll go’.”
The Vikings weren’t done as Kyla Risner’s putback and Avery Emmitt’s triple helped get Evergreen back to within 33-30 with a minute left.
Baker canned another pair from the stripe, but Manz answered with a deep triple with 35 ticks left, bringing the Vikes to a 35-33 deficit.
Dickinson split at the line with 24 seconds left, keeping the Vikings within one possession, but the Cadets didn’t allow Evergreen a clean look in the closing seconds, and a last chance deep shot was off target.
Baker’s 17 led all scorers. Manz’ 10 paced Evergreen. Evergreen (7-8) was just 12/50 from the field while Hilltop was 13/37.
HILLTOP (36) – Dickinson 7; Routt 0; Baker 17; VanArsdalen 0; Bailey 2; Connolly 5; Crossgrove 5; Totals: 12-1-9 – 36
EVERGREEN (33) – Risner 2; Manz 10; Lumbrezer 3; Vaculik 4; Gleckler 0; K. Emmitt 9; A. Emmitt 3; Radel 2; Totals: 8-4-5 – 33
HHS 9 8 7 12 – 36
EHS 7 6 11 9 – 33