Lady Trojans will face uphill battle in offseason for practice time
After a steal, Troy junior Ella Pierce spins around the Bigfork defender to force an opening for her attempted shot in the first quarter Saturday. (Ben Kibbey/The Western News)
The Troy High School girls basketball team may have faced a 67-18 loss to Bigfork last Saturday, but the performance from the Lady Trojans was noticeably improved over their last game against the steamroller that is the Bigfork basketball program.
There has been significant improvement among the Lady Trojans over the season, said Troy Head Coach Bradley Dunn-meier.
One he pointed out was sophomore Talise Becquart, who in the second half of the season has been concentrating on her shooting.
“Talise has really improved a lot,” said Dunn-meier.
She is composing her shots noticeably better, taking her time. Even with her layups — which have at times been a bit hard — she has shown evidence she is thinking about every part of her game.
“I noticed tonight, she’s nice, soft, off the backboard,” Dunn-meier said after the Bigfork game.
With the entire team, not just in shooting but in passing as well, Dunn-meier said they have been working on being conscious of how they approach passing and shooting. Even in the second half against Bigfork versus the first half, he noted improvement there.
Overall, Dunn-meier said he thinks the Lady Trojans may have overestimated how much their experience in previous years would prepare them for this season without time spent practicing in the offseason.
But, while he sees a real desire to put that time in and improve from the younger players, he is not sure if they will have the time over the summer, he said.
Many of the girls have jobs where they work seven days a week as they try to save for college. Summer isn’t a vacation, as much as an opportunity to save up money.
Even for something such as a basketball camp, most of the players simply won’t be able to get that much time off.
Dunn-meier reflected that it wasn’t as hard for him growing up on a farm with a hoop on the garage and space to play. But the players around here just don’t have that.
The Lady Trojans travel to Eureka Saturday, and the girls varsity game is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. This will be the final game of their regular season, and the winner will go to the tournament, with the loser playing a play-in game on Monday, Feb. 18.
Saturday, Feb. 2
Bigfork 67, Troy 18
B: 15 29 18 5 - 67
T: 4 6 4 4 - 18
Troy: Annie Day 4 points, 2-4 FT; Katelynn Tallmadge 6 points, 0-1 FT; Isabelle Ramirez 2 points; Talise Becquart 6 points.