By: Joe Blystone
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
WEST UNITY (December 18, 2023) – Hilltop’s Libbie Baker did almost everything except sell tickets and run the concession stand.
The Cadets’ 6’2 junior scored 16 points, had double digit rebounds, dished out six assists, deflected and influenced shots and playing the point in coach Tony Grime’s 1-2-2 trap and all of those basketball traits combined to a 45-18 victory over Fayette to bump the Cadets record to 5-4 on the season.
“Libbie knows and Libbie makes the right pass 99 percent of the time,” Grime said postgame of his multi-talented junior.
Fayette took a 3-0 lead when Demi Storrs meshed a right-wing triple with 6:58 left in the first.
Little did anyone know, that field goal would be the last for the Eagles over 20 minutes as Fayette misfired on their next 29 attempts.
Baker took over the rest of the first, scoring 11 of Hilltop’s 13 points on a variety of inside moves to take a 13-6 lead.
The Cadets scored the only two field goals of the second, both on feeds from Baker as Sophia Crossgrove hit a bucket in transition off a steal, then Baker went inside out to Kelsy Connolly for a triple from the head of the key for an 18-6 halftime margin.
Despite a whopping eight third quarter turnovers, Hilltop blew the game open thanks to 7-11 shooting from the field.
Baker scored on an out of bounds play, Crossgrove’s wing jumper, and Baker’s feed to Brynn Rodriguez after a turnover opened the lead to 24-6 in just over a minute.
“When you throw a 6’2 girl up there it can be a little cumbersome for the other team,” Grime said of the havoc Baker creates in the passing lanes on the top of the 1-2-2.
Eleana VanArsdalen canned a triple, again from Baker, as did Connolly to help open up a 35-13 chasm after three quarters.
“That’s important,” Grime explained of a number of Cadets hitting third quarter shots. “If we can get a couple people getting eight and Baker getting 16 we should be alright.”
“We know we have to play defense to win games this year. We’re not going to go out there and score 60 points a game, that is not in our repertoire yet. “
“If we get shots from the outside, those shots are going to be there because they pay a lot of attention to Libbie.”
For the night Hilltop shot 17-39 from the field while the Eagles were just 4-43. Neither team took care of the basketball by any means as Hilltop committed 30 turnovers compared to 28 for Fayette.
Fayette fell to 2-5 for the season.
FAYETTE (18) – Sinks 2; D. Storrs 5; K. Storrs 4; Powers 3; Brown 2; Schang 2; Totals: 2-2-8 – 18
HILLTOP (45) – Dickinson 3; Rodriguez 4; Routt 2; Baker 16; VanArsdalen 3; Bailey 2; Connolly 8; Crossgrove 2; Jones 1; Totals: 13-4-7 – 45
FAYETTE 6 0 7 5 – 18
HILLTOP 13 5 17 10 – 45