By PAUL GOTHAM
HILTON, N.Y. — Mallory Heise finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds while Ella Clark and Leah Thompson combined to score 12 fourth-quarter points as the Hilton girls’ basketball team pulled away for a 53-42 victory over visiting Honeoye Falls-Lima, Thursday afternoon.
Trailing early in the third quarter, Heise connected on one of her three 3-pointers to give the Cadets a 37-34 edge heading into the final stanza. Clark’s free throw-line jumper two possessions into the fourth gave Hilton a lead it did not surrender at 39-37.
“We’ve grown leaps and bounds as a shooting team,” said first-year head coach Dave Heise, the uncle of Hilton’s sophomore guard, who was an assistant with the Cadets in 2021-22. “Last year that wasn’t one of our strengths. This year it is a strength. We hit 11 threes against Penfield, 12 in another game.
Mallory Heise hits the pull-up jumper to give @LadyCadetsHoops a 34-32 lead. pic.twitter.com/VV1cjzQzwe
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) December 29, 2022
“Mal’s really stepped up her game. We know she’s a threat to get to the hole. Great respect for her mid-range, but now that she can stick the three it helps us that much more.”
After surrendering five threes and 21 points in the first quarter, Hilton limited HF-L to three triples and 21 points for the remainder of the contest.
“I’m really happy with that,” Heise stated. “We’re not afraid to win ugly some nights. We’ve improved offensively, but more importantly, we’ve established ourselves defensively. We’re starting to guard the ball a lot more heavily this year. Last year we were a little afraid to get some girls in foul trouble because we were worried about our bench, but this year we’re looking to attack teams more defensively. That’s helped a ton.”
The Cadets held HF-L to three field goals over the final seven minutes of the contest. At the same time, Hilton produced points on seven of its last 10 possessions. Heise pointed to an emphasis in practice that led to the closing run.
“We play a simple game called score-stop-score,” he explained. “We just say that to them throughout the year. I said it to them in huddles today. A score-stop-score stretch is a gain of six. We did that. We hit a huge three. All of sudden it’s nine or 10 points. Again it’s putting a premium on our defense.”
Ella Clark gets in a passing lane for a steal and bucket at the other end. @Hiltonhoops 49-42 pic.twitter.com/IQq8wK0ytz
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) December 29, 2022
Leading by two, Elena Graziano and Heise hit jumpers on consecutive trips down the floor. Clark converted a pair of free throws before Thompson made it a 47-42 game with a bucket. Clark scored on a steal and layup, and Thompson made it a double-digit game at 52-42 when the junior connected from long range.
“No matter what we do that’s great or awful, we got to stay in the moment and get to the next play,” Heise said of the mindset that took over late in the game. “Our girls are starting to buy into that and not hang their heads for too long. We were really young last year. We’re still young, but we’re not going to wait. We want to win now. We don’t want this to be a two-year plan. Let’s see what we can do now.”
Clark scored 19 points in the win. Thompson had eight points and 10 rebounds. Paige Siciliano rounded out the scoring for the Cadets with three points.
Hilton improved to 5-3 on the season with the win.
Shaye Angelo and Mollie Finn scored 11 points apiece for HF-L (5-2). Maddy Schubach added five points. Grace Hoffman, Claire Ruff and Caroline Smith accounted for four points apiece. Sam Ostrovski had three points.
Mollie Finn takes the Clare Ruff dish and finds the bottom of the net. pic.twitter.com/YW7YWxkB1H
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) December 29, 2022
“That’s a team that will right there by the end of the year,” Heise said of the Cougars. “I have great respect for Coach (Steve) Willoughby and what he does with his teams year in and year out.”
Michael Heise says
Great synopsis of this game Paul. I know I am a little bias with my daughter Mallory, but your reporting is always top notch. Thank you.