On a frigid Wednesday evening the Miami Trace Lady Panthers hosted the Hillsboro Lady Indians in a Frontier Athletic Conference basketball contest.

Hillsboro defeated Miami Trace in a thriller, 58-56, the first time the teams played this season.

On this night, the Lady Indians never trailed the entire game and led by as many as 18 points in the second half on their way to a 56-46 road victory.

Hillsboro sophomore Kobie Miles scored the first basket of the contest, followed by a three from teammate Peighton Bledsoe to give the Lady Indians an early 5-0 lead. A jumper and a free throw from Miami Trace freshman Lauren Guess made it 5-3 just moments later. After another layup from Miles, Lady Panther sophomore Ryleigh Vincent connected on two free throws.

Two free throws from Bledsoe were followed by two free throws from Miami Trace’s lone senior, Jessee Stewart, to keep it at a one possession game. The Lady Panthers later tied the game on a layup from sophomore Zoey Grooms, prompting a Hillsboro timeout.

The Lady Indians went on a 6-0 run to close out the quarter, including a layup from freshman Tylee Davis and four points from Miles. Miami Trace had a look for a shot at the buzzer but the attempt was no good, making it 15-9 after one.

Hillsboro outscored Miami Trace 17-9 in the second period, forcing several turnovers to take a 32-18 lead into the half.

The Lady Indians led by as many as 18 points in the third quarter, and were ahead 46-32 with just one period to play.

Miami Trace began the fourth quarter on a 9-0 run to get within five points, thanks to a three from Stewart, a three-point play from Vincent, a jumper from Guess and a free throw from Stewart.

That was as close as the Lady Panthers would get as Hillsboro outscored them 10-5 over the final four minutes to take a conference victory back to Highland County.

”When we came out in the first half we were flat. At halftime, we challenged them to come out and play with more effort and energy,” Miami Trace coach Kayla Dettwiller said. “I thought they did a much better job of that in the second half, they battled back. We got it within five points there in the fourth and then we just started running out of gas at the end.”

Miami Trace (2-6 FAC, 5-10 overall) is back in action next Wednesday, Jan. 24 at Jackson (8-0 FAC, 12-0 overall).

Jackson defeated Washington on Wednesday, 56-42.

Hillsboro (4-4 FAC, 8-8 overall) plays again on Monday, Jan. 22 at home against Peebles (7-2 SHAC, 10-2 overall).

SCORE BY QUARTERS

MT 9 9 14 14 — 46

H 15 17 14 10 — 56

MIAMI TRACE — Gracie Lovett 1-1-3; Alison Reeves 0-0-0; Bella Shull 1 (1)-2-7; Jessee Stewart 0 (1)-3-6; Cali Kirkpatrick 0-0-0; Lauren Guess 7-1-15; Ryleigh Vincent 4-3-11; Zoey Grooms 1-2-4. TOTALS — 14 (2)-12-46. Free throw shooting: 12 of 19 for 63 percent. Three-point field goals: Shull, Stewart. Field goal shooting: 16 of 45 for 36 percent. Three-point field goal shooting: 2 of 12 for 17 percent. Rebounds: 26 (9 offensive). Turnovers: 14. Assists: 10. Steals: 7.

HILLSBORO — Peighton Bledsoe 3 (1)-2-11; Kobie Miles 3-7-13; Rylie Scott 3 (1)-0-9; Tylee Davis 2-5-9; Addyson Miles 1-0-2; Kyra Boyd 1 (1)-3-8; Blake Herdman 0 (1)-0-4. TOTALS — 13 (4)-18-56. Free throw shooting: 18 of 24 for 75 percent. Three-point field goals: Bledsoe, Herdman, Boyd, Scott. Field goal shooting: 17 of 39 for 44 percent. Turnovers: 15. Offensive rebounds: 7.

Miami Trace won the jayvee contest, 30-14.

Tyler Flora is a reporter for the Record-Herald in Washington C.H.