Holcomb girls fall in consolation semifinals at Hillsboro

Hillsboro, KS-The Lady Longhorns let one slip away Friday afternoon at the Trojan Classic in Hillsboro. Holcomb led early, using a tenacious defense and a strong rebounding effort to keep the Sunrise Christian Academy Buffaloes off balance, building a 5-point lead early in the 2nd quarter. But cold shooting and turnovers finally doomed the Longhorns, as they fell to the Buffaloes 39 – 33.

Holcomb led most of the first half, but a defensive breakdown allowed Sunrise Christian’s Aleksandra Petrovic to go coast to coast in the final four seconds of the half for a buzzer-beating layup that gave Sunrise a 16 – 15 lead at halftime. The Longhorns never led again.

Throughout the 3rd quarter and the first few minutes of the 4th, Holcomb kept Sunrise within three points. With the Buffaloes up 28 – 25 with just over three minutes to play, another defensive lapse left Petrovic open again, this time for a trey that extended the lead to six points. The Longhorns never got closer than four after that.

Britnie Novack and Darien Mader led the Lady Longhorns with 8 points apiece and Novack also pulled down 13 rebounds, as Holcomb won the battle of the boards, 38 – 33. Zoe Engler had 7 points, followed by Eboni Sapien with 6. Lexy Salmans led Sunrise with 16 points, 12 in the second half, and Petrovic had a double-double, 13 points and 10 boards.

Holcomb shot just 31% from the field, including 0-of-7 from beyond the arc and hit just 1 of 8 free throws. Sunrise was 4-of-5 from the charity stripe and hit 36% from the field.

Holcomb falls to 2-9.