It’s been a trying season for the Hillsboro girls basketball team.
The Hawks introduced a new head coach this year, and in addition to the players they lost to graduation last spring, other key contributors opted not to play this season.
Then there’s the loss of senior forward Elaina Readnour, who had knee surgery last spring and could possibly endure it again on her other knee. Readnour was wearing a bulky knee brace and was not in uniform during the 39th annual Hillsboro Invitational last week.
Readnour suited up against Festus in a 53-36 loss on Jan. 16, but that was only so she could play against her friend, senior Abby Rickermann of the Tigers.
“She’s such a wonderful kid and she would have been a huge help for us,” said head coach Andrew Hubbard, who replaced Joe Fehlker last year.
Hubbard, 32, has six children ages 2 to 11, and was reminded that’s enough to have a starting lineup and sixth man on a basketball team.
“It’s fun having them around and watching them do things. We’re exhausted when we go to bed,” he said.
Front-court size helped Herculaneum (12-6) dominate the first half against the Hawks (3-13) in their tournament game on Jan. 30. The Blackcats, seeded fourth led Hillsboro 41-16 at the break, but the Hawks (No. 8) came out of the locker room and played inspired ball in the third quarter before giving way to the Blackcats 60-43.
“It was a whole lot better,” Hubbard said of his team’s play in the second half. “Our effort throughout the game was great. In the second quarter, we got out of whack, throwing the ball away, letting the pressure get to us. I felt we did a good job overall. Herky is a very skilled team. They’ve got (senior guard Taylor Metcalf) up top and a lot of shooters on the wings. My biggest girl is 5-8 and we’re trying to guard to 6-footers. Zoe Wood is 5-4 and she was guarding (junior forward Paige Fowler). Our goal was to hold her below her scoring average and we did a good job.”
Fowler is one of the top scorers in the St. Louis area this season, averaging 20.6 points per game. She scored 16 points against the Hawks.
One of Hillsboro’s holdovers from last season, junior Maya LaPlante, led the Hawks with 15 points against Herculaneum. LaPlante was returning after sitting out with the flu.
“I was happy to get back to almost full strength,” Hubbard said. “She did a good job of getting around her first defender to find Zoe and Abby Cole.
“I felt once we settled down after the first few minutes, we started pushing the ball inside and we got a couple good looks and shots to get to the line. One of our best strengths, we can get up to the basket and get close looks.”
Herculaneum head coach Riley Blair has veterans in the back court, on the wings and in the post. The Blackcats have size and scoring touch. Fowler is the reigning Jefferson County Activities Association small-schools most valuable player.
“We didn’t start out well. We gave up 12 points in the first quarter then had a great (second) quarter defensively,” Blair said. “Then we came out in the third and gave up 15 points. We’ve got to learn how to execute on the defensive end. That’s our key focus right now. We’re not playing good defense in the half court and we’ve got to find a way to do that. It seemed like we didn’t have any energy on the defensive end.”
Senior forward Ashley Croom is one of several Herky players able to make 3-point baskets. Croom netted four against the Hawks.
“She can shoot from the outside. When she’s on, typically we are on,” Blair said. “That’s how it goes for us. We have a threat from the inside out.”
Center Caitlyn Huber, a senior, has blocked a team-high 18 shots this year. Along with Croom, Fowler and sophomore Macey Pilliard, the Blackcats can cut off offenses from the paint.
“Our size is an advantage. Pilliard is playing really good basketball right now. If she can come together, she’ll be pretty deadly for us,” Blair said.
The Blackcats dropped their first game at the tournament, 63-56, to Seckman before rebounding against the Hawks, then continued their momentum with a 53-25 drubbing of Alton.
Top-seeded Hazelwood Central improved to 12-8 this season after beating Freeburg 79-67 in Saturday’s tournament championship. Central, also the Hawks, won three games in the tournament by an average score of 82-38. Saxony Lutheran (No. 3) upended Seckman (No. 5) 63-42 for third place. And Herculaneum doubled up Alton (No. 6) 53-25 in the consolation final.