Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
FRANKFORT — There was good news and bad news for Adena on Thursday evening.
The bad? Once again, turnovers reared their ugly heads and hindered the team’s offense at times during its non-league contest against visiting Hillsboro.
But despite giving away 23 possessions, the Warriors were in control throughout a 63-45 win over the Indians — the good.
It’s a balancing act.
But the bottom line is that Adena stands at 11-1 overall this season. Coach Andrew Day’s squad knows it has areas it can improve in, but as long as the victories keep rolling in, all is well in The Village.
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
“I think Hillsboro is a team that’s far better than its record says it is,” Day said. “They compete really well and they’ve lost a lot of close games. We knew we had to play well coming in. We shot the ball really, really well, from all spots on the floor. The one thing that we have hammered home with this crew is that we have the talent in that room to be a special team. But that’s not until we start taking care of the ball at a much higher level. It’s something we continue to work on. We have to value having possession of the ball.”
Early on, freshman Marly Halcomb had the hot hand and her teammates kept feeding her. Late in the game, the other half of Adena’s one-two punch, Emma Garrison, continually made her presence known in the scoring column.
That’s a story the Warriors have written many times this winter.
However, this time, they also got significant help late in the game from the trio of Kamryn Sowers, Kiera Williams and Corrine Day — who combined for 18 points, which ended up being the difference in the night’s final tally.
“I thought we got a lot of help from a lot of different players tonight,” Day said. “It’s nice to have options when somebody doesn’t have it at a particular point of any game. Someone else can step up and get a bucket. I thought we did that really well tonight.”
Tale of the tape
Halcomb got the party started with a corner 3 just 12 seconds into the action. Garrison then scored less than a minute later before Halcomb hit another trey at the 3:48 mark in the first quarter, making it a 9-0 tally before Hillsboro (5-7) could blink.
PHOTOS: Images from Adena’s win over Hillsboro
The Indians finally got on the board with 1:42 left, thanks to a basket from Rylie Scott. Kyra Boyd then scored before two free throws from Kobie Miles made it an 11-6 count. By the start of the second, what was once a 10-point lead had dwindled to four at 13-9.
Hillsboro managed to cut the deficit to 13-12 before Halcomb dialed long distance for a third time. Shen then scored again to make it 21-14 with 2:12 to go.
Hillsboro’s Blake Herdman hit two free throws, making it 21-16. But things quickly changed after those freebies. Garrison and Sydney Ater each scored before Garrison stepped to the line, making it 27-16. When Halcomb drilled a 3 with 3.6 seconds left, it capped a 9-0 run.
By halftime, the Warriors had a 30-16 advantage while Hillsboro was just 5-of-29 shooting.
“I do think we allowed too much penetration to the basket,” Day said. “But we did a good job of helping and making [Hillsboro] make contested shots. But we work really hard on the defensive end. That’s what we pride ourselves on and spend a lot of time on in practice. The results have been good this year.”
Not much changed in the second half as Adena nursed a double-digit lead throughout the rest of the game. Down the stretch, Sowers added three baskets and Corrine Day used the glass to score and create second chance opportunities, helping the Warriors to their 11th win in 12 tries.
“It means that we’ve taken care of business when we’ve had the opportunities to do that,” Day said. “It hasn’t always been pretty, but winning is a skill. We’ve worked really hard at winning close games. So I’m pleased with our start. But basketball is a long season.”
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
Stat book
Garrison led the Warriors, stuffing the stat sheet with 18 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Meanwhile, Halcomb posted 18 points of her own alongside seven boards and three steals. Kamryn Sowers also chipped in with eight points, Kiera Williams had five points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals, and Corrine Day finished with five points and seven rebounds.
As for Hillsboro, Davis led the way with a team-high 16 points while Herdman helped the Indians’ cause with a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds.
What’s on tap
While Hillsboro attempts to get back on track on Wednesday in FAC action, hosting Washington, Adena gets ready to travel to Zane Trace on Saturday for an SVC matchup.
“They’re much improved from a year ago. They’ve played a lot of teams close,” Day said of Zane Trace. “Then, we have a big one with Jackson on Monday. We’ve got some tough games coming up that we’ll have to prepare well for so that we can go out and play well.”
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