The faces may have changed, but the game was much the same on Monday night.
In a rematch of the 2015 Class 4 third-place game (a 45-43 overtime win for Bolivar), the Bolivar Lady Liberators escaped with a hard-fought 61-58 victory over the host Hillcrest Lady Hornets.
“Anytime these two teams get together, it’s going to be a battle royale,” Bolivar coach Darin Archer said. “Tonight wasn’t any different.
“There’s a lot of faces gone from last year’s teams that went to the final four, but the rivalry, I think, still remains the same.”
Bolivar senior Kaylie Rothdiener hit two free throws to open the scoring and Hillcrest’s Kaycee Gerald answered with a baseline jumper to tie it 2-2 and the battle was on. The teams traded baskets with Hillcrest going on a few runs to open up a six-point lead on two different occasions before closing the quarter with a 16-12 lead.
Bolivar took its first lead of the game (17-16) early in the second quarter, but Hillcrest senior Jordan Pryor sparked a 7-0 run by hitting a 3-pointer to give the Lady Hornets a six-point lead (23-17). Michelle Gabani’s putback pulled Bolivar to 23-19, but a 5-0 run gave Hillcrest its biggest lead (28-19) with 3:03 left in the first half.
The Lady Liberators kept it close, capped by Rothdiener’s driving layup at the halftime buzzer (and her 15 first-half points), but Hillcrest took a 33-29 advantage going into the locker room.
Aleena Derossett hit a 3-pointer to pull the Lady Liberators within one point (33-32) to open the second half. But like two prize fighters, the teams traded punches (baskets) before Bolivar broke it open, taking a six-point lead with 1:43 left in the third, sparked by Gabani’s nine-point quarter.
Gerald scored eight points of her own for Hillcrest in the third quarter, and none were bigger than her buzzer-beating, 3-point bank shot from well past the top of the key to even the score at 47 heading into the final eight minutes.
Another Derossett 3 gave Bolivar a 50-47 lead, and the counter-punching continued. Hillcrest senior Laurnea Jarman and Gabani traded baskets, as Bolivar took a 52-49 advantage.
The Lady Hornets turned up the heat on their ¾-court press to spark an 8-0 run and a 56-52 lead.
“The one thing that they try to do is wear you down,” Archer said. “I was worried about that, midway through the fourth quarter. We got a little sluggish and had some empty possessions, and I think a lot of that was due to Hillcrest. They just ramped up their intensity.”
But Bolivar didn’t panic.
“(The key) was just settling down and taking care of the basketball and getting good shots because they can really get out and guard,” Archer said of the Hillcrest defense. “And when we settled down there toward the end, we were getting better looks and I think that made the difference.”
As did his senior point guard.
“I thought Meleah Francka did a heck of a job running our offense tonight,” Archer said. “She kept us under control, mentally… I felt like her leadership out on the floor on both ends… we were able to spark off that.”
A Derossett 3-pointer and a runner in the lane from Francka pulled Bolivar to within a point (58-57) with 1:22 to go. Hillcrest called timeout, then turned the ball over.
Rothdiener scored on a drive to the basket to give the Lady Liberators a 59-58 lead with about one minute left.
“I think there were some crucial possessions when we were four points up; and that was crucial when they hit a 3,” Hillcrest coach Jeni Hopkins said. “And I think it was crucial when we didn’t block out and rebound; we missed a shot underneath the basket… There were crucial times where we could have converted and taken care of business and we didn’t.”
Rothdiener sealed the victory (61-58) with free throws on two separate trips to the line.
“It was a heartbreaker,” Hopkins said. “I thought our kids played really hard, and I think they hustled and they worked really hard, but you’ve got to give credit to Bolivar. They hit their shots when they needed to hit their shots and we didn’t.”
Archer also had praise for both teams.
“My hat’s off to every kid that participated tonight,” Archer said. “They got after it and played hard on both sides.
“That was just a good basketball game.”
Rothdiener led three Lady Liberators in double figures with 21 points. Gabani added 20 and Derossett scored 12 points, on four 3-pointers.
Hillcrest also had three players in double figures, led by Gerald’s 21 points. Jarman and Jasmyn Johnson added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
BOLIVAR GIRLS 61, HILLCREST 58
BOLIVAR – 12-17-18-14—61
HILLCREST – 16-17-14-11—58
BOLIVAR (8-7) – Meleah Francka 5, Aleena Derossett 12, Michelle Gabani 20, Reaghan Lesh 3, Kaylie Rothdiener 21.
HILLCREST (8-8) – Sarah Hale 3, Kaycee Gerald 21, Mikhala McCullough 5, Jordan Pryor 6, Laurnea Jarman 11, Jasmyn Johnson 10, Witney Williams 2.
