Freeport 59, Auburn 42: It might have been Kelsey Hoefer’s hardest shot and one of the more painful ones she’s taken this year. But the senior forward banked in her 1,000th career point and became the 10th player in Freeport girls history and the fourth active player to reach the plateau.
The Pretzels found a way to win a very physical contest against Auburn Friday, 59-42, despite Hoefer’s injured back after scoring her fourth point of the night and Katie Norman nearly missing the second half with an injury to her nose.
“It really didn’t sink in, and it still really hasn’t,” Hoefer said after the game. “I took a hard hit. She (an Auburn defender) took me from my legs, and I hit my back and got whiplashed on my head.
“But (the accomplishment) feels great. I’m up there with the best of the best from Freeport. It’s quite an honor, especially with the team we have that’s so unselfish.”
Hoefer (five points) made her 1,000th career point with 9.9 seconds left on the clock in the first quarter. After her fall, Hoefer stood up and managed to make a free throw after drawing the foul that injured her.
“It’s probably one of the toughest buckets that she’s made out of her 1,000 points,” Freeport coach Ryan Pierce said. “She certainly earned it and made the free throw, so we left her out there to see how it was.”
Pierce said that the forward’s back might tighten up today but hopes she will be OK against Monroe.
Auburn proved to be no NIC-10 doormat yet again this season, and stayed within range throughout the night against Freeport. And as if Freeport’s Senior Night wasn’t already dramatic enough, Norman injured her nose with 4:18 left in the first half.
“I was very upset. It’s the last home game,” Norman said, “I wanted to play. I was hoping I could play whether it was broken or not. The trainer and my parents and coach thought it was all right.”
Fortunately for Freeport, Norman returned to the game with 6:13 remaining in the third quarter with the Pretzels only ahead 31-28.
The Pretzels then went on a 12-2 run after a Suporia Dickens (game-high 22 points) inbounds alley-oop and Caitlin Greene (seven points) 3-pointer gave Freeport a 43-30 lead.
- Joey Baskerville, Gatehouse News Service
