Plains Trotters top Lady Trojans
Plains outlasted the Lady Trojans for a 39-28 win in a high-energy, but foul-plagued matchup last weekend.
The Trotters incurred six fouls in as many minutes to start the Jan. 22 game. The Lady Trojans, though, committed five fouls in the same span of time.
Troy started the game with a 3-1-1 zone press, which created several turnovers that led to points for the Lady Trojans. Troy snuck ahead a minute and a half into the second quarter with a score of 13-12, but it was the last lead they would enjoy.
Offensively, Troy moved the ball around effectively against the zone defense employed by Plains. The Lady Trojans got off several quality shots, but converting those opportunities into points presented a problem.
Still, coach Cynthia Franke was pleased with the turnovers created by her defense.
“We did well attacking the Plains defense,” she said. “We just need to turn their turnovers into more points for us.”
Leading the Lady Trojans with 16 points, Elaine Folkerts took advantage of Plains to create scoring opportunities for teammates. On top of Folkerts’ good showing, Frank praised Audrianna Borgman for her ability to find the open cutter with timely passes against the Trotter defense. She also highlighted Brooklyn Reid for adding to the Lady Trojans’ élan.
“Eighth grader Brooklyn Reid provided a spark to the Lady Trojan defense with her hustle and aggressive play,” Franke said.
During the loss, the Lady Trojans shot 18 free throws, converting just five. The Trotters converted 11 of 36 free throws.
Franke said the Lady Trojans were improving, but acknowledged more work was needed.
“As the season progresses, we are getting better and finding the open man on offense,” she said. “But as I mentioned before, we need to finish. We need to put the ball in the hoop.”
The Lady Trojans fell to the St. Ignatius Bulldogs 61-19 on the road a day earlier. The game got out of hand early, with St. Ignatius racking up 18 points in both the first and second quarters of action.
Autumn Fisher was the top scorer on Jan. 21, ending the night with nine points. Izzy Tunison and Leslie Gravier each came away with five points.