On Monday, Hillsboro girls basketball coach Cherish Stringfield had no idea whether junior Raegan Starks would be playing this week.
Friday, Starks was on the court. And Stringfield was sure glad about that.
Starks sprained her ankle four days ago and returned to score all 11 of her points in the second half, as Hillsboro rallied for a 46-44 win over Brentwood in a battle of District 11-4A unbeatens.
“Today it was feeling better,” Starks said of her ankle. “I felt good about it because right after practice I went to ice it, I iced it every day and went to therapy. I did things every day at home stretching it out so it doesn’t get stiff. I was just (focused) on getting it right for this game.”
Her three-point play that ended the third quarter was a momentum builder for Hillsboro, and her right ankle showed no sign of weakness.
“I wasn’t making my outside shots so I started driving in more,” Starks said.
Starks scored 21 points in a win at East Nashville last week but was forced to sit out Tuesday's win against Overton.
“Raegan really just came up big,” Stringfield said. “She’s really been big the last two or three games.
“She got up some shots but she missed four days of the week. So the injury wasn’t bad, but it was bad enough we didn’t want to push it, we wanted her to rest and be ready for tonight.”
Starks had plenty of help against Brentwood, which led until midway through the fourth quarter when Hillsboro guard Kamil Washum converted a three-point play.
Hillsboro senior forward Tazia Williamson led all players with 17 points and 11 rebounds to maintain her double-double average.
She scored 12 points in the first half to help the Lady Burros keep up. Brentwood caught fire from long range and finished with nine 3-pointers.
“She was big tonight. We knew Tazia would be a headache for a lot of teams. Some of the defenses (Brentwood) played allowed us to go inside to her more,” Stringfield said. “She’s developed as an offensive player this season. She has multiple countermoves now, is more patient, and can read the defenses. I think because of that she was able to showcase her skills tonight and score when we needed it.”
Freshman guard Eboni Donaldson scored seven of her 10 points in the second half. She sank two big 3s in the third quarter to keep Hillsboro close.
“She’s a really good ball-handler and really runs our offense,” Stringfield said. “She’s a really good shooter as well and was at the right spot at the right time, so she was able to hit those corner threes. That’s her spot.”
BOX SCORE
Brentwood (44): Ella Ryan 18, Paige Morris 11, Ava Jarrett 8, Olivia Castagna 5, Willow Kim 2.
