“I couldn’t ask for a better Senior Night,” Hillis said. “Everybody on the team was supporting each other. Benj was supporting all of us. We had a good student section. Our parents were supporting us. It was just great all around.”
Hillis sank 7 of 8 treys in a memorable first half, hitting five in the opening six minutes. She finished 8 of 12 beyond the arc and tied her career-best scoring total with 24 points.
“I just got hot,” said Hillis, who established the previous single-game record of six 3-pointers against Ross this season. “My adrenaline gets through the roof coming into the game, but I’ve never come in and shot that well. I didn’t expect eight 3-pointers.
“I’m going to be humble about it because it’s my team that’s passing me the ball. I shot it pretty well tonight. I’m pretty proud.”
Hillis and fellow seniors Rachel Price, Lexxie Phipps, Claudia Zeigler and Rose Fox were honored before the game. Afterward, the team cut down the net to celebrate its second straight outright GWOC South crown.
Springboro made 11 of 26 treys. The score was 40-16 at intermission.
“Certainly the first half was unbelievable,” Benjamin said. “It bothers me that we can’t come out and play four quarters, but that’s the nature of a game like that. I do want to congratulate our seniors. It was a very good night for them.”
He noted that Hillis holds a trio of 3-point school records — game, season (66) and career (133).
“If I would’ve said one thing after last year, it was that she needed to shoot a better percentage,” Benjamin said. “To her credit, a year later, she’s done that. She’s had a great year shooting the ball.”
The Panthers, the fourth-ranked Division I squad in Ohio, are 20-1 overall and 9-0 in the GWOC heading into Saturday’s regular-season finale at Lebanon. Fairborn fell to 12-9, 6-3.
“I’ve never seen a kid shoot that many 3s in that short amount of time,” Skyhawks coach Bridgett Williams said. “It’s just the nature of their team. Senior Night is supposed to look like that, right?”
Aaliyah Patten scored 19 points and Dominique Redmon had 15 for Fairborn, which closes the regular season at home Saturday against Xenia.
Courtney Mustard had seven rebounds and Jana Brown-Griffith chipped in six for the Skyhawks. Phipps grabbed 11 boards for Springboro, and Kasey Hughes and Breanna Graham scored seven points apiece.
“They take care of business. They’re focused on getting to state,” Williams said of the Panthers. “I’m very proud of my girls and their focus tonight. They kept working hard, and that’s all you can ask for.
“This is our second year here, so our ideal is not the short term. We understand it’s a journey, not a quick sprint.”
For Springboro, Wednesday’s triumph extended its GWOC South winning streak to 23. The Panthers defeated Fairborn 49-28 on Jan. 14.
Hillis said Senior Night was a jumble of mixed emotions.
“Coming here, I was excited and pumped up for the game,” she said. “Then walking into the gym and seeing what the underclassmen did for us and seeing all our signs and then seeing my coach Dale Brunner, who coached me from third all the way up to seventh grade … I just started crying.
“When they announced my name and I came out and my teammates hugged me, that was an emotional time. It’s just sad thinking that this is the last game I’m going to play with them at home.”
Springboro would love to make a lengthy postseason run. Lakota West derailed the Panthers 54-34 in last year’s district finals.
“If you had told me we’d be 20-1 before the season started, I think I would’ve taken that,” Benjamin said. “We’ve still got some basketball to play. Lebanon will be a good Game 22.”
Alter handed Springboro its only defeat (62-52) on Feb. 2. The top-seeded Panthers begin sectional play at 2 p.m. on Feb. 21, facing Xenia at Wayne.
Fairborn 4-12-6-15—37
Springboro 25-15-8-5—53
FAIRBORN (12-9, 6-3): Dominique Redmon 5 4 15; Aaliyah Patten 5 7 19; Jana Brown-Griffith 1 1 3. Totals: 11-12-37.
SPRINGBORO (20-1, 9-0): Courtney Hillis 8 0 24; Rachel Price 1 1 3; Rose Fox 1 2 4; Kasey Hughes 2 1 7; Breanne Graham 2 2 7; Kelly Wurth 2 0 4; Hannah Ingram 2 0 4. Totals: 18-6-53.
3-pters: F 3 (Patten 2, Redmon), S 11 (Hillis 8, Hughes 2, Graham)
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