LAUREL HILL — The Laurel Hill School girls basketball team still has a lot of work to do.
But at least Coach Ronnie Smith has a better grasp on some the things the Hoboes need to work on after Monday’s season opener with Freeport.
A young Hobo squad did what it could to keep things close before the depth and experience of Freeport kicked in as the Bulldogs rolled to a 45-22 win.
“We are really young,” Smith said. “We haven’t had enough practice days. A lot of the girls played volleyball and we’ve had about two weeks of practice.
“We are in the same boat as everybody else. We don’t look very good right now, but I still think there is some hope.”
Kaylee L’Homme scored the game’s first basket for Laurel Hill. The next nine points were scored by Freeport as the Bulldogs took a lead they held the remainder of the game.
Freeport led 13-6 at the end of the first quarter. The closest the Hoboes got the rest of the night was midway through the second quarter. A Graceland Reese bucket for Laurel Hill cut the Bulldog lead to 15-12.
Back-to-back 3-pointers for Freeport by Molly Head and Martha Freeman pushed the lead back to 21-12. Freeport maintained the double digit lead the remainder of the game.
Head scored a game-high 23 points for the Bulldogs. Freeman added 10 points.
L’Homme led Laurel Hill with 10 points. Kaylyn McLaney scored eight points.
“This team reminds me of the first year I took over from Grover (Hicks),” Smith said. “We are really young and it’s going to be a learning season. We’ve got a bunch of young girls that will try hard and we will see where it takes us.”
FREEPORT 45, LAUREL HIL 22
Freeport 13 8 12 12 – 45
Laurel Hill 6 6 7 3 – 22
FREEPORT (45)
Head 23, Freeman 10. Morrison 3, Freeman 10, Harris 1, Knight 2, Dunnaway 4, Williams 3. Totals 12 5 8-17 45.
LAUREL HILL (22)
Kaylee L’Homme 10, Laney Fugate 2, Kaylyn McLaney 8, Graceland Reese 2. Totals 8 2 0-1 22.
Laurel Hill-Freeport box
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Laurel Hill drops opener to Freeport (PHOTOS)