By Jeff Yoder
Hillcrest freshman Malia Yoder had her second double-digit effort of the new year for the Ravens in a 60-29 loss to the conference leader, Mediapolis.
Yoder equalled a career-high with seven rebounds and came up just a point shy of matching her best point total with 12 on Tuesday. She also had two steals and two assists for the Ravens.
“Malia had a great game,” Hillcrest coach Mitchell Drey said. “She was looking for her shot and attacking the basket. She was able to get past the on-ball defender and create her own shots.”
Yoder went 7-for-7 from the free throw line on Tuesday and is up to almost 70 percent for the season.
“Malia did a great job looking for contact when she was going to the basket,” Drey said, “this has been a huge improvement in her game from the start of the year. Malia is also one of our better free throw shooters, so I wasn’t surprised when she was converting her free throws.”
Esther Hughes scored nine points and had a team-high eight rebounds. Norah Yoder made both of her 3-point attempts to finish with six points and Leah Bontrager pulled down four rebounds.
The Ravens (1-11) outscored the visitors 8-7 in the third quarter after falling behind 49-16 in the first half to the undefeated Bulldogs (12-0).
“We did a great job on the defensive side of the ball in the second half,” Drey said. “Mediapolis is a great offensive team and they don’t pull any punches. So only allowing them to score 20 points in the second half was a huge deal for us. We need that level of defense the rest of the year.”
GAME STATS
Mediapolis 29 20 7 13 – 69
Hillcrest 6 10 8 5 – 29
HILLCREST SCORING: Malia Yoder 12, Esther Hughes 9, Norah Yoder 6, Kylee Statler 2. REBOUNDING: Hughes 8, M. Yoder 7, Leah Bontrager 4.
MEPO SCORING: Hallie Mohr 26, Payton Bush 16, Hanna Wagenbach 8, Emma Hastings 7, Jaydon Wirt 6, Liz Lane 4, Haley Steffener 2.