Hilton scored only 12 points over the first 11 minutes of the game and trailed by as many as 11 points, but came back to defeat Greece Athena 44-37 in girls basketball.
The Cadets rallied with a 13-3 run in the second quarter as junior Madison Manetta hit a lay-up, seventh-grader Malory Heise and junior Sydney Carpenter consecutive three-pointers, junior Victoria Cangialosi a bank shot, and Carpenter another trey from the right corner to cut the Trojans lead to one.
While the Cadets defense held Athena to just one point in the entire third quarter, Manetta hit a put-back, Heise a free throw, and eighth-grader Ella Clark a jumper to close the period with the Cadets leading by four points.
The two teams traded leads midway through the final quarter, but senior center Amelia Shuster came off the bench to give the Cadets the lead for good on a drive with 2:22 remaining. Manetta’s jumper and free throw by Heise gave Hilton a four-point advantage before Shuster knocked down a pair of free throws, and Heise another to seal the victory.
Manetta finished with a game-high 12 points and eight rebounds, Carpenter 11 points with five rebounds and five steals, Heise eight points with two assists with senior guard Logan Hibbard, Clark and Shuster each adding four points with four rebounds.
Hilton evened their record at 8-8 with the win. With four games remaining in the regular season, including senior night February 14, they were fighting for a Section V first round playoff game.
