Watching Minneapolis South 5-10 junior guard Morgan Hill on the basketball court, it’s clear she loves to drive the hoop. It’s a strategy that seemed to work well in South’s 69-33 victory over Minneapolis Washburn (3-8, 3-3) Friday night at Washburn High School.

But Morgan said her older sister, Tayler, likes to help her work on jumpers.

“She said we’ve got to stop driving so much,” Morgan said, with a laugh. “She said we’ve got to start pulling up and getting that into our game.”

That “we” Morgan referred to is her and younger sister Jade, an eighth-grade starting guard for the Tigers  (10-3, 5-0). They might be wise to listen to their sister Tayler, 26, who, when she graduated in 2009, was the all-time leading scorer in Minnesota high school basketball – boys and girls – with 3,888 career points. She's currently third on that list for girls' hoops. 

Morgan and Jade are in the middle of seven children in a clearly talented basketball family and are teaming up at South for the next generation of Hill family basketball. Coach Nathan McGuire has seen Tayler and their dad around the gym with the girls.

“One thing I’ve noticed about the Hill family is that they’re very close knit and all work hard together,” McGuire said, who is in his second season with the Tigers. “When you talk about a basketball family, it’s top to bottom, everybody. They even have a younger sister that will be coming up in a couple years.”

Tayler may encourage working on the jumpshot, but Morgan said her dad is always telling her to drive first and look to be on the attack.

“If you attack more, then people are open in other spots,” Morgan said. “It’s just my game, is to drive. It’s way better for me.”

It certainly worked well the past couple games. After a career-high 39 points in a 77-64 double-overtime victory this week against Lakeville South, Morgan scored a game-high 26 points against the Millers. A few times during the game, she was outpacing the entire opposing team.

Throughout the game, Morgan and Jade took turns dishing the ball to each other, driving to the hoop and being aggressive on the boards. Morgan put up 17 points in the first half alone and was 3-for-3 on three-point-play opportunities in the first half. The pair was a big part of their team’s 13-2 run to end the first half after a bit of a slow start.  

“Even in the half-court, you could see these guys attack,” McGuire said. “You saw that Jade-to-Morgan a couple times.”

Just like Jade, Morgan found herself as a varsity starter as an eighth grader. Both girls enjoy playing together.

“It’s really amazing,” Jade said. “She’s a go-to person for me. It I am not open, then I know I can trust her to score. She’s a leader on the team.”

South hasn’t been to the state tournament since 2009 when they won it all – during Tayler’s senior season. The Tigers finished as runners-up in 2007 and 2008. Tayler was named Ms. Basketball, went on to be a four-year starter at Ohio State and was selected in the first round (fourth overall) of the WNBA draft in 2013.

Both Morgan and Jade said there’s some pressure and comparisons from mom and dad.

“My parents definitely put a lot of pressure on me to work hard and try and get that state championship like my sister,” Morgan said.

The goal for the Tigers this season is to get a home game in the section tournament, said Morgan.

Last season, South had a shot waved off at the buzzer against Robbinsdale Armstrong in the section quarterfinals, and the Tigers are building off that heartbreaker, McGuire said.

Even though the bench isn’t very deep, McGuire knows South can count on Morgan and Jade when the team is put under pressure.

“I love when teams try to press us… just give the ball to Jade and Morgan, and they know exactly what to do,” he said.

Minneapolis South (10-3, 5-0) cruised to a 69-33 victory over host Minneapolis Washburn (3-8, 3-3) on Friday night at Washburn High School. 

After a slow start with a few missed shots on both sides, the Tigers got going, led by the Hill sisters, junior 5-foot-10 guard Morgan and eighth-grade 5-foot-7 guard Jade. They dished the ball to each other, drove the lane and were aggressive on the boards. 

Morgan Hill put up 17 points in the first half alone, constantly getting to the hoop and grabbing offensive rebounds. Hill was 3-for-3 on three-point-play opportunities in the first half. The Tigers went on a 13-2 scoring run to go up 36-18 at the break and never let Washburn back in the game.  

Morgan Hill finished with a game-high 26 points, followed by sophomore guard Solana Cushing with 18. Jade Hill scored 14. 

Senior Jacqueline Boarman led the Millers with nine points.