Lady Trojans crush Noxon, 54-23, in front of capacity crowd

With a holler of “Lady Trojans” the Troy girls’ team took the court against Noxon on Saturday night in Troy. The old gymnasium was at near capacity for Throwback Night and the team was ready to play. The girls started strong and led the entire game in their 54-23 win.

Coach Justin Young couldn’t have been happier with his team’s performance. He also reveled in the opportunity to play in the old gym where the crowd noise and energy boosted the intensity of the game.

The Lady Trojans are a young team. They started two freshmen and a sophomore, along with two seniors. Leading the way in scoring were freshmen Aurora Becquart and Allie Coldwell, who had 13 points each. Sophomore Allie Brown added 7 points and got the second half scoring started with a nice finger-roll layup. Taylor Brown made a couple three-pointers in the contest.

McKenna Krueger of the Lady Red Devils led all scorers with 15 points, many coming from the charity stripe.

It’s also a deep team for the Lady Trojans. Young said turnout for the team was probably the strongest it’s been in about five years.

Inexperience may have been a factor in his team’s lackluster shooting in their first games, said Young, but hard work is paying dividends for the team. One of his goals for the team against Noxon was to play loose.  They certainly did, with his young athletic team scoring several points from quick transition buckets.

In their game against Plains on Dec. 19 the Lady Trojans ended up on the wrong side of the 42-21 final score. The Lady Trojans kept the game close for the first quarter and the beginning of the second, but with about three minutes to play in the half Plains went on a run.

Lady Trojans Coach Justin Young said he was most impressed with the way his team played defense. Plains had been scoring 60 points their first couple games.

Unfortunately, the well went dry on the offensive end for the Lady Trojans. Plains put full-court defensive pressure the entire game, which gave Young’s backcourt fits.

The Plains girls were state track champs in the spring and several of the girls play on the basketball team.

Overall, Young was pleased with the toughness displayed by his young team. He looked at the game as another good learning experience against a very athletic team.

Young said his battle-tested seniors provided great leadership in the game and at team practices. He said they’ve really stepped up to take on their roles as mentors for the younger players.

Freshmen Aurora Becquart and Allie Coldwell led the team in scoring with 7 and 6 points respectively. Senior Taylor Brown also added 6 points.

The Lady Trojans will take some time off during Christmas break before returning against Thompson Falls on Jan. 2.