Lady Trojans' Pepiot scores 17 in District 7-B loss to Eureka

As the Troy High School girls basketball team heads into its final week of the season, no victories appear on the record. The Lady Trojans continue to have problems even staying close to their opponents.

Still, first-year coach Neil Newton speaks with pride about his team – a collection of athletes that has learned the game and shown steady improvement. On the court, the Lady Trojans have proven that they can play a very tough man-to-man defense. And although frustration does take hold at times, the girls will smile to reveal that the sport has its fun moments.

This past week, Libby and Eureka handed the Lady Trojans a pair of losses. The Lady Loggers downed Troy on Thursday, 53-14, and Eureka followed up on Friday with a 67-26 win.

Troy junior Jackie Pepiot continues to impress with her hard play. She scored 17 of Troy’s 26 points in the loss to Eureka.

“She just needed to get some confidence and now she’s been taking on the load,” Newton said. “She’s only a junior and we have another year to work with her.”

Eureka’s multi-faceted attack took its toll on Troy in the opening quarter and the Lions held a 20-3 lead. By the time halftime arrived, the visitors had built a 41-13 advantage.

The Trojans struggled with fouls in the contest. Freshman starter Jordan Williams fouled out late in the third quarter.

“Jordan got into foul trouble and that hurt us,” Newton said. “We have just a six-man rotation so when somebody gets into foul trouble, it hurts.”

Stephanie Vogelman scored 21 points – all in the first half – to lead the Lady Lions. Taylor Holder added 14.

In the Thursday game at Class A Libby, the Lady Loggers held leads of 14-2 through the first and 24-2 at halftime to pull out of reach early. Troy’s best eight minutes came in the third with 10 points – including an 8-4 run to end the quarter.

Pepiot scored 8 points – including a 4-for-6 effort at the free-throw line.

In player news, Allie Maestas is no longer on the team after moving away.

Troy (0-10, 0-18) heads into the District 7-B Tournament, which runs Thursday through Saturday. The Lady Trojans will face Thompson Falls in their first game at LHS on Thursday at 6 p.m. With a win, Troy would play again on Friday against Eureka. With a loss, the girls would fall into a consolation bracket game on Saturday at 9 a.m. in Libby.

Eureka 67, Troy 26

Friday at Troy

Scoring by Quarters:

Eureka    20    21    12    14—67

Troy          5      8      7      6—26

Eureka (67)

Holder 7 0-2 14, Hammons 3 1-2 7, Elster 2 1-2 5, White 2 1-2 6, Dickenson 1 2-4 4, Morgan 4 0-2 8, Vogelman 9 3-7 21, Williams 1 0-0 2. Totals 29 8-21 67.

Troy (26)

Olds 2 1-2 5, Klin 2 0-0 4, Pepiot 4 8-13 17. Totals 8 9-15 26.

Libby 53, Troy 14

Thursday at Libby

Scoring by Quarters:

Troy      2    0      10      2—14

Libby    14    10    18    11—53

Troy (14)

Klin 1 0-0 2, Bonifas 0 0-2 0, Williams 2 0-0 4, Pepiot 2 4-6 8. Totals 5 4-8 14.

Libby (53)

Good 2 0-0 4, Martin 1 0-1 2, Gilden 5 1-2 11, Best 2 1-4 5, Mee 9 5-5 24, Kulbeck 2 0-0 4, Tangen 1 1-1 3. Totals 22 8-13 53.