Eureka romps, sends Troy to Tuesday's play-in game at Bigfork
<p>Troy senior center Breanna Opland, left, and junior guard Kelli Lundin watch junior center Caitlin Johnston grab an offensive rebound in the third quarter of the 61-25 conference loss to Eureka.</p>
<p>Senior forward Jordan Williams brings the ball down court on a fourth quarter fast break vs. Eureka Friday evening.</p>
For Troy High School’s senior-heavy girls basketball team, this weekend was a letdown.
There weren’t any upsets, and senior night was spoiled by a Eureka team that has had no trouble scoring this season.
The Lady Trojans dropped to 3-15 after losing on the road Thursday to Stillwater Christian 60-27, to Eureka on Friday at home 61-25, and on the road to Mission 51-23 on Saturday.
For Troy, which does not lack athleticism, the end product is frustrating.
“We work really hard, and we don’t see the results we wish we would,” said senior guard Alanah True-Silva. “It’s all-or-nothing time. It’s time for the seniors to step up.”
Despite remaining winless in conference, the Lady Trojans have one more shot at some postseason contention.
Fifth-seeded Troy will travel to Bigfork on Tuesday to battle the fourth-seeded Vals in District 7-B’s play-in game.
But to upset Bigfork, the Lady Trojans will need to work on their defense – a lot.
“We just need to play it,” said Head Coach Kara Sevalstad. “We didn’t play very good defense (against Eureka), and the score reflected it.”
In contrast, the Eureka Lady Lions played superb defense, and Troy found it taxing to get the ball across the half-court line.
For several minutes in the fourth quarter, Troy had as many fouls, 21, as it did points. The Lady Lions benefited from the many stops in play.
“We were playing good off-ball defense,” said Eureka Head Coach RJ McDole. “We don’t try to get a steal every time, we just try and get them off their rhythm.”
Cassidy Morgan and Alex Holland, the Lady Lions’ senior center and guard, finished with 17 and 16 points. The win over Troy locked up first place in 7-B for Eureka.
Junior guard Kelli Lundin had 11 to lead the Lady Trojans.
Troy will travel to Bigfork for District 7-B’s play-in game Tuesday.
Eureka 61, Troy 25
Eureka 15 16 10 20 - 61
Troy 4 12 1 8 - 25
Eureka: Cassidy Morgan 17, Alex Holland 16, Amanda Peterson 8, Mikayla Grove 6, Carli Allen 6, Alyssa White 3, Caitlin Larson 2, Evynn Anderson 2, Whitney Williams 1.
Troy: Kelli Lundin 11, Jordan Williams 7, Caitlin Johnston 4, Micheala Curry 2, Breanna Opland 1.