Hillcrest Academy wins behind 18 points from Hughes

Posted 12/4/19

Hillcrest Academy picked up their first win of the season with a 34-28 win at Tri-County High School last week powered by a strong second half from Esther Hughes.

Both teams struggled out of the …

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Hillcrest Academy wins behind 18 points from Hughes

Posted

Hillcrest Academy picked up their first win of the season with a 34-28 win at Tri-County High School last week powered by a strong second half from Esther Hughes.

Both teams struggled out of the gate, with the first points of the game coming 2:11 into the game on a Yani Gutierrez free throw. The Ravens then had a scoring drought for the next 5:41 as Meredith Blossom hit a free throw to cut the Tri-County lead to 7-2 at the end of one quarter.

The scoring continued to struggle in the second quarter, with turnovers piling up for each team. Hillcrest Academy had 12 turnovers in the first half and Tri-County had 16. With around four minutes left in the quarter Gutierrez picked up her third foul of the game, forcing her to the bench.

Hillcrest Academy head coach Kari Heusinkveld said that with Gutierrez on the bench, she felt like Leah Bontrager gave the Ravens some good looks.

“I thought Leah Bontrager, she really stepped it up in practice and it was nice to see her bring that tonight. It was good to see her be aggressive and the little things we need her to do,” Heusinkveld said.

With 3:20 left in the quarter, Esther Hughes banked in a 3-pointer to tie the game at nine. Tri-County freshman Macy Schmidt pushed the Trojans to a 10-9 lead with a free throw with 3:10 left in the half. Both teams were scoreless over the final three minutes.

Hillcrest Academy coach Kari Heusinkveld said the team came out focused in the second half and that showed in how they played.

The teams traded the lead in the third quarter, and Tri-County looked poised to take a lead into the start of the fourth. Hughes dribbled up the court during the final seconds ticking in the quarter and sent a half-court heave that went in. That gave Hillcrest Academy a 19-18 lead at the end of the quarter and some momentum heading into the final eight minutes.

“I was just like, ‘I got one second left I have to shoot this’ and it just happened to be right on,” Hughes said. “I think it did (give me confidence), but consciously I didn’t really think about it.”

Hughes scored 13 points for the Ravens in the second half to finish with 18 points, a career high. Gutierrez also hit some clutch shots in the fourth quarter to finish with 11.

Tri-County mounted a comeback after falling behind 27-18 with 4:33 left. The Trojans closed the gap to 30-26 with a 3-pointer with 1:10 remaining. The Ravens were saved by their free-throw shooting. On all one-and-one bonus opportunities the Ravens went 6-6 with free throws from Hughes, Gutierrez and Sarah Miller.

“We went 6-6 down that stretch and you can’t ask for much else. Free throws won us that game,” Heusinkveld said.

The win pushes Hillcrest Academy to 1-1 on the season. The Ravens played at Lone Tree on Tuesday. They host Louisa-Muscatine this Friday and will play at Mediapolis on Tuesday.

Box Score

Hillcrest Academy: 2; 7; 10; 15; 34

Tri-County: 7; 3; 8; 10; 28