Eureka holds off Lady Trojans in 7-B action

Settling down into its half-court offense, Troy patiently passed the ball into each corner and then back up to the key in an effort to break down the opponent and find lanes to the hoop.

Through the first two quarters, the Lady Trojans’ strategy worked to the tune of an 11-11 halftime tie against Eureka, the top team in the District 7-B.

“We can’t score in the 50s and 60s and beat a team like that,” Troy coach Cory Andersen said. “I thought we did a good job in the first half staying patient. In the second half, they switched to man-to-man.”

The switch was the beginning of the end for the Lady Trojans. Eureka pulled away in the third quarter en route to a 44-31 victory in the final game at Troy Gymnasium.

With the loss, Troy had to hit the road for a Tuesday “play-in game” for a chance to advance to the district tournament at Libby. The Lady Trojans (1-7, 7-11) played at Plains (1-7, 3-14) in a game that occurred after presstime.

Troy and Eureka played evenly in the first half. Each team shot 21.4 percent from the field. The Lady Trojans held a good advantage on the boards, 15-7.

But in the third, the Lions began to click. After each team had hit just one field goal the entire second quarter, both the Trojans and Lions hit baskets in the first 38 seconds of the third. Molly Harpole’s hoop at 7:22 tied the game, 13-13.

Eureka then ran off eight straight points to create a cushion. The Trojans got back to within 23-19 on a jumper by Harpole and a 3-pointer from Megan Cummings only to see the Lions finish strong for a 27-19 lead heading into the fourth.

In the meantime, Troy started to get into serious foul trouble. Cassidy Hand and Harpole each had four fouls before the end of the third and Alicia Anderson got tagged with her fourth foul early in the final quarter.

“When that happens, you do the best you can to stay in there,” Andersen said about the foul situation. “They’re an experienced team … our defense backed down a little bit.”

Eureka also took control of the boards and shot much better. Still, Troy battled back to within 30-26 with 4:37 remaining in the game when Alyssa Olds scored in the lane on a feed from Harpole. In the final 3 minutes, the Lions outscored Troy 10-3 to secure the win.

Senior Mariah Newell scored 21 points to lead the Lions. Harpole scored 10 points for the Lady Trojans and Jackie Pepiot came off the bench to grab a team-high six rebounds.

Lions 44, Trojans 31

Saturday at Troy

Eureka (44)

Yost 1 2-2 4, West 2 0-0 4, Lawler 3 0-0 8, Vogelman 2 3-6 7, Newell 8 5-8 21, Dickinson 0 0-0 0, Stacy 0 0-0 0, Hall 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 10-16 44.

Troy (31)

Maestas 0 0-0 0, Olds 1 2-3 4, Harpole 2 6-8 10, Hand 2 0-0 4, Anderson 2 1-2 5, Pepiot 2 1-2 5, Cummings 1 0-0 3, Hines 0 0-0 0. Totals 10 10-15 31.

Three-Pointers–Eureka 2 (Lawler 2), Troy 1 (Cummings). Rebounds–Eureka 35 (Yost 8, Newell 8), Troy 28 (Pepiot 6). Assists–Eureka 12 (Lawler 4), Troy 8 (Harpole 3). Total Fouls–Eureka 15, Troy 15. Fouled Out–West. Technical Fouls–None.