Girls Basketball: Trojan girls show improvement

Glancing up at the halftime scoreboard, the Troy High School girls basketball team found themselves trailing Thompson Falls by a mere four points. Yes, the Lady Trojans were losing but they were in the game – something they couldn’t say about many of their other contests this season.

“We were doing all the little things … on defense we were where we needed to be,” Troy Coach Neil Newton said. “Toward the end, we were getting tired and had some mental lapses.”

Thompson Falls pulled away in the second half for a 47-22 victory on Friday to improve to 4-2 in District 7-B. The winless Trojans came away from the game with flashes of what they could become. The girls worked hard on defense and create legitimate opportunities on offense. Over the long haul, enough shots just weren’t falling.

“They shot a great percentage and we didn’t – it hurt,” Newton said. “It was a good game; they have a good program. We put up a fight with them … we need to make our easy shots.”

The Lady Trojans scored only two points in the opening quarter. Kimmy Klin sank a pair of free throws with 6:20 left in the first to tie the game but the Bluehawks blanked the home squad the rest of the way.

Still, Troy trailed by only five points as the second quarter got under way. Troy senior Allie Maestas hit a 3-pointer just over a minute into the quarter to cut the deficit to 7-5. The rest of the quarter, the two teams traded baskets. Troy got to within two points of the lead on four other occasions following the Maestas shot but couldn’t completely get over the hump.

Nastassja Hines, Jackie Pepiot and Alyssa Olds all found the net in the second, and Pepiot hit a pair of free throws to make the score, 15-13. Thompson Falls got the final hoop, however, to take a 17-13 advantage in at the break.

The Bluehawks opened the second half with a 6-0 run and Troy never recovered to threaten the lead. Thompson Falls outscored the Trojans, 30-9, over the third and fourth quarters.

The Bluehawks’ Karli Cavill was tough to stop with 22 points. Teammate Kyla Molzhon added 10 for the visitors.

Troy plays host to Plains on Friday at 6 p.m., and heads to Noxon on Saturday for a 4:30 p.m. matchup.

T. Falls 47, Troy 22

Friday at Troy

THOMPSON FALLS (47)

Becker 1 0-0 2, Gunderson 0 0-0 0, Vaught 2 1-1 5, Peters 0 0-0 0, Cavill 11 0-1 22, Molzhon 4 2-3 10, Stark 1 0-0 2, Fitchett 2 2-2 6. Totals 21 5-7 47.

TROY (22)

Maestas 1 0-1 3, Olds 1 0-0 2, Klin 0 2-2 2, Hines 2 0-6 4, Hand 0 0-0 0, Williams 1 1-4 3, Pepiot 2 2-2 6, Opland 1 0-0 2. Totals 8 5-15 22.

Scoring by Quarters:

T. Falls (4-2, 5-5)    7    10    12    18—47

Troy (0-6, 0-11)    2    11    4    5—22

Superior 38, Troy 26

The Troy High School girls basketball team continued to show signs of improvement in a 38-26 loss to Superior on Saturday.

After playing well in the first half against Thompson Falls on Friday, the Lady Trojans erupted for 15 points in the second quarter against Superior to trail by just one point at the break. Superior regained its composure in the third and fourth quarters to post the 12-point win.

Jackie Pepiot scored 11 points to lead the Troy offense. In all, seven different players scored for the Trojans.

Troy (0-6, 0-12) plays at home again on Friday with Plains coming to town. The Trojans head to Noxon on Saturday.

Scoring by Quarters:

Superior    6    10    11    11—38

Troy    0    15    2    9—26

Superior—Cooper 3, Varnall 6, Good Pasture 2, Koke 6, Blaylock 7, Rennick 7, Taylor 7.

Troy—Maestas 3, Olds 5, Klin 2, Hines 2, Hand 2, Williams 1, Pepiot 11.