Girls Basketball: Young Trojans fall twice to open season

Trailing by 26 points early in the fourth quarter, the Troy High School girls basketball team never gave up on its offense in the season-opener Friday against Valley Christian.

Setting up the offense, junior guard Cassidy Hand fired the ball in to junior post Jackie Pepiot. In smooth fashion, Pepiot took the pass and scored all in one motion. She even drew a foul for an opportunity to make it a three-point play.

Those types of highlights were few in the Lady Trojans’ first game but also showed that the team has the potential to develop.

“The girls, they understand what we need to be working on,” first-year coach Neil Newton said following a 50-22 loss. “Even after a defeat like that, they understand what needs to be done.”

Playing in the Troy Tournament, the Lady Trojans followed up on Saturday with a 53-20 loss to Stillwater Christian.

Troy had a rough start in the opener with no points in the first quarter. In fact, the Trojans didn’t even attempt a shot until the 3:12 mark of the opening period.

“We were just so jittery in the first half and they had already played a game on Tuesday,” Newton said. “They’re a good team; their size hurt us.”

Valley Christian didn’t look real smooth either in the early going but still built an 18-0 lead a few minutes into the second quarter. Troy scored its first point on an Allie Maestas free throw with 3:34 left in the first half. The first basket occurred with 49 seconds left in the half on a 3-pointer by Hand.

Troy played much better in the second half. The Lady Eagles outscored the home squad by only three points over the final 16 minutes after leading 29-4 at the break.

Hand led Trojan scorers with six points on a pair of 3-pointers. Maestas also hit a 3 and finished with four points. Kimmy Klin came off the bench to grab a team-high nine rebounds. Nastassja Hines had a pair of assists.

As a team, Troy shot 27 percent from the field and 23 percent from the free throw line.

In Saturday’s game, Stillwater built a 25-11 lead by halftime and went on to win by 33. Pepiot led Trojan scorers with eight and Maestas added six.

The Lady Trojans head to Thompson Falls on Thursday.

Valley Christian 50, Troy 22

Friday at Troy

VALLEY CHRISTIAN (50)

Wittmeier 0 2-2 2, Kesler 4 3-7 11, Bullock 2 0-2 4, Cross 3 1-6 6, Ireland 8 2-3 18, Pearson 2 1-2 6, Velin 0 0-0 0, Dargan 1 0-0 2, Denman 0 0-0 0, Bohlken 0 0-0 0, Saimela 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 9-22 50.

TROY (22)

Maestas 1 1-2 4, Olds 1 0-0 2, Hines 0 0-5 0, Hand 2 0-4 6, Pepiot 1 0-1 2, Klin 1 0-1 2, Opland 1 0-0 2, Bonifas 0 2-5 2, Williams 0 0-0 0, Curry 0 1-2 1, Reid 0 1-2 1. Totals 7 5-22 22.

Three-Pointers–Valley Christian 1 (Pearson), Troy 3 (Hand 2, Maestas). Rebounds–Valley Christian 41 (Kesler 12), Troy 31 (Klin 9). Assists–Valley Christian 10 (Cross 3), Troy 4 (Hines 2). Total Fouls–Valley Christian 22, Troy 17. Fouled Out–None. Technical Fouls–None.

Stillwater Christian 53, Troy 20

Saturday at Troy

Troy—Maestas 6, Olds 4, Klin 1, Williams 2, Pepiot 8.

Stillwater Christian—Harrel 5, Red Elk 7, Smith 1, Hashley 12, Vanderark 7, Bray 9, Paolini 6, Danz 4.