By John RittenhouseThe Hills-Beaver Creek girls’ basketball team broke into the win column in Red Rock Conference play by defeating Murray County Central 57-52 in Hills Thursday.The Patriots played an outstanding defensive game against the Rebels and that proved to be the main reason why H-BC was able to snap a three-game losing skid.H-BC threw full-court pressure at MCC, which coughed up the ball 25 times in the game compared with H-BC’s 12 turnovers in the contest."Their turnovers were the deciding factor in the game," said Patriot coach Tom Goehle. "They beat us on the glass, but we did a tremendous job of putting pressure on them all night. The turnover differential is what won the ballgame for us."H-BC sported a 13-12 lead after eight minutes of play before increasing the difference to two points (29-27) by halftime.Patriot senior Erin Boeve led a 20-14 third-quarter assault on the Rebels by scoring 12 of her team-high 14 points in a period that ended with the hosts boasting a 49-41 advantage.The Patriots led by as many as 12 points in the fourth quarter before MCC rallied late in the stanza to pull within four points (56-52) of the hosts. H-BC capped the scoring with a late free throw.Boeve and Amanda Olson led H-BC on the boards with nine and seven rebounds.Cassi Tilstra charted a double-double with 10 points and 10 assists in the game. She also had a team-high five steals. Brittney Rozeboom added four steals to the winning cause.H-BC was scheduled to play in Pipestone Monday andhost Southwest Christian Tuesday, but both games were postponed. The H-BC-SWC game will be played Monday, while the H-BC-Pipestone contest will be played Feb. 23.The Patriots will host Edgerton Public Friday.Box scoreRozeboom 3 0 1-2 7, Fransman 1 0 0-0 2, Bush 0 1 1-2 4, Sandstede 3 0 0-0 6, Tilstra 2 1 3-6 10, Hoyme 0 0 0-0 0, Boeve 6 0 2-3 14, Olson 1 0 0-0 2, Mulder 5 0 2-2 12.Team statisticsH-BC: 23 of 51 field goals (45 percent), nine of 15 free throws (60 percent), 37 rebounds, 12 turnovers.MCC: 19 of 44 field goals (43 percent), 13 of 30 free throws (43 percent), 42 rebounds, 25 turnovers.
