Hillcrest girls hold off Borah to win the inaugural TitleOne Tip-Off Classic title

IDAHO FALLS – And the inaugural TitleOne Tip-Off Classic girls championship goes to Hillcrest.

Yes, that same Hillcrest team that opened the season 0-5.

That same team that struggled to win close games earlier in the season.

“Early in the season we played a lot of younger players, not a ton of varsity experience,” coach Ryan Taylor said following the postgame ceremony and trophy presentation after the Knights defeated Borah 49-48.

“I was pretty confident in our girls, in our team,” Taylor said. “Sometimes early on in the season it takes a little while for things to mesh and things to gel. We kept preaching patience and we’re going to figure this thing out. To the girls’ credit, they continued to believe in themselves and here we are on a five-game win streak.”

Not just a five-game win streak, but a tournament title after beating Twin Falls, Bishop Kelly and then Borah in the finals.

The Lions entered the game 7-1 and were ranked No. 4 in the 6A coaches’ poll.

By the time Camryn Taylor knocked down a 3-pointer from the top of the key in the closing seconds of the first half on Saturday, it was clear this was truly a different Hillcrest team.

Taylor’s 3-pointer put the Knights up 23-17 entering the half.

They held that lead through the third, but Borah kept within reach.

Even as Hillcrest upped its advantage to 44-34 to open the fourth, it looked like Borah was just waiting for its chance.

And with two minutes left, the Lions came charging back with a 9-0 run.

Leading 49-48 as the clock ticked down, Hillcrest turned the ball over and Borah had its chance. But three shots at the basketball missed the mark and it was the Knights celebrating as the final buzzer sounded.

“We shot better this game,” Camryn Taylor said of the team’s emergence.

Taylor hit 4 of 9 3-pointers and finished with a team-high 17 points.

Kaia Kesler finished with 14 points, 10 coming in the second half as the Knights held off Borah’s comeback attempt.

Ryan Taylor said the team works on its perimeter shooting because it usually faces bigger lineups.

“Tonight we were fortunate enough to see enough of them go in,” he said.

As for the current winning streak, it a good sign of what’s to come, he said.

“The glimpses of a good team are there,” he said. “We want to be playing our best ball as the season progresses and not necessarily the beginning.”