By John Rittenhouse
The Hills-Beaver Creek Patriot girls’ basketball team knocked off long-time rival Southwest Christian in a Red Rock Conference game played in Hills Thursday.
The Patriots struggled to score points in the second and third quarters, but they scored enough in the first and fourth periods to set the stage to a 38-29 win.
H-BC’s nine-point win upped its RRC record to 2-0 in the young season.
The victory, however, didn’t come easy.
Leading 21-13 at the intermission after a five-point third quarter, H-BC’s shooting woes continued in the third period. SWC battled back to knot the score before the Patriots regained the lead at 25-23 heading into the fourth quarter.
The E-Gals tied the game again early in the fourth quarter before the Patriots used a late surge to outscore SWC 13-6 in the period.
"We got a few transition baskets, got a few steals and made a few free throws to pull away in the final four minutes," said Patriot coach Tom Goehle.
H-BC also played well in the first quarter.
Cassi Tilstra, who led the Patriots with six assists, scored six of her 10 points to help the Patriots double (16-8) SWC’s scoring output in the first eight minutes of play.
The fast start for H-BC was followed by cold-shooting efforts in the second and third quarters.
"We went stone cold in the second and third quarters," said Goehle. "It’s unbelievable to score nine points in the second and third quarters and still win the game."
Erin Boeve had a double-double for the Patriots with 15 rebounds and 10 points.
Brittney Rozeboom charted 10 points, nine rebounds and six steals.
H-BC turned the ball over eight fewer times (20-12) than SWC, and that helped the Patriots overcome a rough night at the charity stripe (11 of 26).
Box score
B.Rozeboom 2 1 3-9 10, Tilstra 3 0 4-10 10, S.Rozeboom 2 0 0-0 4, Boeve 4 0 2-5 10, Olson 0 0 2-2 2, Mulder 1 0 0-0 2.
Team statistics
H-BC: 13 of 47 field goals (28 percent), 11 of 26 free throws (42 percent), 39 rebounds, 12 turnovers.
SWC: 11 of 37 field goals (30 percent), seven of 11 free throws (63 percent), 38 rebounds, 20 turnovers.