Lady Trojans drop third consecutive game on the road in Ronan
Ronan had little trouble with the Lady Trojans in their Saturday night game in Troy. The Maidens jumped on Troy early and cruised to a 48-18 victory.
With smothering full-court pressure to start the game, Ronan didn’t allow Troy to find any kind of offensive rhythm. The Lady Trojans found the bottom of the net only twice in the opening quarter. The score was 14-4 at the end of the first, but it could have been worse with the Maidens missing several close put-backs after rebounds.
Ronan’s pressure was unrelenting to start the second quarter causing Troy to turn the ball over four times within a minute and a half.
Coach Justin Young wasn’t bothered by the way his team handled the pressure. “One worry I don’t have is our girls handling pressure. Sometimes they just try to move too fast,” Young said.
On the offensive end, Ronan pushed the ball up court and used good ball movement to find open shots at the basket. They used skillful interior passing against the Trojans zone-defense, leading to several easy baskets in the paint.
Allie Coldwell hit a 3-pointer at about the six-minute mark of the second quarter and Young tried to fire his team up from the sideline.
Young shouted for Coldwell to be aggressive as she dribbled the ball past the bench. She hit a jumper at the top of the key, making the game as close as it would get, 18-9. After that bucket, Ronan went on an 11-2 run and held a 29-11 lead at the half.
Young said foul trouble plagued the Lady Trojans over the three-game stretch, saying it was a sign of his team’s inexperience. “We have to adjust our style of play for how the refs are calling the game,” he said.
It was the Lady Trojans third game in as many days, which may have led to a little fatigue. Things didn’t get better for the Lady Trojans in the second half as Ronan’s defense confounded the young Troy team. That, and Ronan’s domination on the boards, proved to be too much for Troy. The Trojans continued to play hard, but they struggled to create offensive opportunities.
That tough play led to the ejection of Troy player Olivia Roach and Ronan’s Aspen Jore because of a tussle for a loose ball near the end of the game.
The Lady Trojans went 0-3 in the three-game stretch. “Losses are never fun, but this week was nothing but a growing week,” said Young, “it’s the definition of growing pains.”
Young said his team must improve in several key areas, but they are headed in the right direction. “By the end of the year we know we’re going to be one of the teams nobody wants to face,” he said.
At Bigfork on Friday the Lady Trojans found tough sledding against the Valkyries in their District 7-B matchup. Although the Lady Trojans lost the game, Troy coach Justin Young came away with some positives. “In the first half our offense was probably clicking the best it has all season,” he said. But with foul trouble for Allie Coldwell and Aurora Becquart, and the team missing two of their seniors, Bigfork had the upper-hand.
Coldwell and Becquart led Troy with 13 points and 10 points.