News Photo by James Andersen Hillman Vanessa Schook, left, attempts to block Rogers City's Hannah Fleming’s three-point attempt during the second half of a girls basketball game on Friday in Hillman.

HILLMAN–Hillman girls basketball coach John Kuzewski has talked often this season about his team’s balance and how any player can step up when called upon.

The Tigers showed on Friday why their balance makes them a force to be reckoned with as they rolled past Rogers City 58-37 at Hillman High School.

In a battle of two of the top teams in Class D–Rogers City is ranked third, Hillman is seventh–the Tigers (9-1, 7-0 North Star League) controlled things most of the way and gained a leg up in the North Star League Big Dipper standings.

“I keep saying it, but it was a great team effort. There were a couple times tonight, especially in the third quarter, but, as you mentioned, someone steps up and hits a huge shot. It could be any one of the 11 we have on this team,” Hillman coach John Kuzewski said. “That’s what’s fun about it right now.”

With both teams coming into the game with identical overall and league records (8-1, 6-0 NSL), one might have expected a tight contest all the way. After a few minutes, the Tigers put any thoughts of that to rest as they hounded the Hurons relentlessly on defense, forcing turnovers and pushing a fast-paced offense.

“Defense was key tonight of course. We feel like we can score with pretty much anybody, but our defensive effort I thought was pretty excellent,” Kuzewski said. “When you hold a team to 37 points, you’re going to win a lot of games.”

After a back-and-forth first quarter, Hillman took control of the game for good in the final minute of the period. Clinging to a 12-11 lead, Hillman pushed its lead to seven in 14 seconds as Lyndsey Ryba and Vanessa Schook both drained three-pointers; two of Hillman’s six for the night.

The Hurons (8-2, 6-1 NSL) who won eight games in a row before losing to Inland Lakes on Monday, never found a rhythm. Between Hillman’s defensive pressure and bad shot selections, the Hurons couldn’t match Hillman offensively and struggled on the boards. Rogers City also suffered through a horrible night at the free throw line, shooting just 4-for-20.

“We can’t give up because of one game, but we definitely have some things that we need to work on and get better at,” Rogers City coach Duane Pitts said. “Right after Christmas break we’ve hit a rough spell here and we’ve got to find a way to take ourselves out of it.”

Hillman led 18-12 after one quarter and pushed its lead to double digits early in the second quarter. The Tigers continued to force turnovers and spread the ball around on offense as six players scored in the period.

Schook led Hillman with 17 points, Eve LaFleche and Andrea Taratuta each had 10 and Ryba had nine. Seven different Hillman players contributed points in the win and the Tigers had five players score at least six points.

Hillman led 34-22 at halftime and didn’t face much of a fight from the Hurons during the second half. Rogers City drew contact and got to the line, but couldn’t convert their shots. Rogers City had 16 free throw attempts in the second half and made just 3.

Kayla Rabeau led the Hurons with 13 points, Taylor Fleming added eight and Sydney Purgiel had seven.

Rogers City’s JV team topped Hillman 58-34.

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HILLMAN (58): L. Ryba 4 0-0 9; V. Schook 6 3-7 17; A. Taratuta 4 1-2 10; E. LaFleche 3 2-3 10; M. Armon 2 2-2 6; B. Jones 2 0-0 4; K. Kenyon 1 0-0 2.

ROGERS CITY (37): T. Fleming 3 2-9 8; K. Rabeau 6 0-0 13; S. Purgiel 3 0-0 7; J. Hance 1 0-0 2; H. Fleming 2 1-6 6; B. Daniels 0 1-2 1; C. Bullock 0 0-2 0.

James Andersen can be reached via email at sports@thealpenanews.com or by phone at 358-5694. Follow James on Twitter @ja_alpenanews.