Pickin' Splinters

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Clark, Heise lead second-half rally; Hilton beats Penfield

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Mallory Heise scored 18 of her 20 points in the second half when Hilton rallied from a 13-point deficit to beat Penfield, 60-56. (Photo: MICHELLE DeHOND)

By PAUL GOTHAM

HILTON, N.Y. — The Hilton girls’ basketball team didn’t linger in the locker room during halftime of Monday’s Monroe County Division I matchup. Head coach Kurt Graupman wanted his team to put up some shots before the third quarter started.

The extra time on the floor paid immediate dividends.

Ella Clark and Mallory Heise combined for 28 second-half points as the Cadets erased a double-digit deficit and went on to beat Penfield, 60-56.

“I didn’t think we had to change our strategy much,” Graupman said of the mindset after the first 16 minutes of play. “We had seven turnovers. Seven is a manageable number at half against Penfield. You take a look at our shooting percentage and it was right around 20 percent. We just got to make some shots, shoot the ball with confidence. I hustled them out. I want them to get out and make some shots.”

Trailing 31-18, Clark hit a 3-pointer to open the second half. It was the first of seven from long range that the Cadets hit over the final 16 minutes of the game.

“Everything kinda went right in the second half for us,” Graupman said. “I feel like lots of times we struggle against the zone. We didn’t tonight. We finally made some shots in the second half and got them to come out of that zone and into man which is what we want teams to play.”

Heise scored four in an 8-2 run to close the third quarter as the Cadets cut the deficit to one at 41-40.

“When you play Penfield, you’re not calling a lot of sets,” Graupman explained. “We’re playing basketball which often times becomes difficult. Not everybody can just play in the flow of the game. We were able to do that tonight in the second half. We found a lineup that seemed like it clicked.”

Clark gave Hilton its first lead of the second half at 45-43 when the sophomore guard connected on her second triple of the night.

Six possessions later, Heise buried a corner three, and the Cadets had a lead they didn’t surrender at 50-48.

“When Penfield went man-to-man, that’s when we’re able to let Mallory do what she does and break kids down,” Graupman said of his ninth-grade point guard who scored 18 points in the second half. “That’s the kind of game she thrives in. She is a basketball player. To force kids to make plays like Penfield does, she can do that.”

Clark finished with a season-high 24 points and six rebounds. Heise handed out five assists while scoring 20 points. Riley Letta scored seven points including a pair of 3-pointers in the second half. Karlee Hargarther accounted for four points. Leah Thompson hit a 3-pointer, and Maddie Johnson had two points.

The Cadets finished the game with a total of nine team turnovers.

“Any time you beat Penfield or are even competitive with them, it’s a big deal, Graupman said. “They tend to run doubles at everybody. If you move the ball out of those doubles and the rest of the people are ready to shoot, you’re going to get some open looks. We had some kids knock down threes. It was a formula for success for sure.”

The win was the third straight for Hilton (7-5).

“It feels good. It validates the work we’ve been doing, what we’ve done on shooting and the kids buying into a system. I feel like we saw that tonight. Kids played hard defensively. We got kids to keep shooting the ball when they didn’t make it. Those were some of the keys to that game.”

Kennedy Cone scored 15 points to lead three in double figures for Penfield. Grace Alexander hit three 3-pointers and scored 12 points. Elisa Faklaris had 11. Jackie Funk (8), Anna Coyle (6) and Eva Elliot (4) also scored for the Patriots.

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