Triton Grabs First Girls Sectional Title
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
CULVER - No matter what your opinion of class basketball is, it does do one thing. It gives teams that would normally not compete for a sectional championship a chance.
An example was Saturday night's Culver girls sectional final of Triton against Argos. Neither school had ever won a girls sectional championship.
Behind the strong play of its starting five, Triton captured that first sectional with a 62-56 win over the Dragons.
Although Triton won, the game was in doubt until the final minute. After Argos' Angie Dunlap hit a jumper, Triton's lead was cut to 57-53. With Argos forced to foul, Triton hit their free throws to preserve the lead.
The game didn't seem to be in so much doubt going into the fourth quarter.
Triton had a 44-33 lead and for the first couple minutes of the quarter was able to keep that lead in double digits. Then Jennifer Yoder took over. She would score the Dragon's next 10 points and close Argos' deficit to 52-49.
While Yoder did her damage in the fourth quarter it was Dunlap who provided the spark for Argos early. Dunlap led all scorers with 24 and had nine of those points in the first quarter to give Argos an 11-10 lead at the end of the quarter.
Triton struggled early from the field, shooting only 4 of 11 from the field in the first quarter. The Trojans would turn that around in the second with their stingy defense. Triton employed a fullcourt trap that forced Argos into several turnovers and hurried shots.
As Triton's defense picked up, so did their offense. The Trojans shot 56 percent from the field in the second and began to pull away from Argos. Argos began to rely heavily on jump shots. Whenever Argos would miss, it seemed as thought Triton's Jessica Kintzel would be there to pull down the board. Kintzel had six of her game-high 15 rebounds in the first half.
With Kintzel controlling the inside, the Dragons had little second-chance opportunities. Triton didn't need many second chances in the second quarter as the inside-outside tandem of Amilia Devros and Megan Sarber combined to score 13 second-quarter points.
Behind the scoring of Sarber and Devros, Triton went into the locker room at halftime with a 31-25 lead.
According to Triton coach Mark Heeter, the Trojans' ability to hang onto the ball is what kept them in the lead and is what will keep them successful for the rest of the year.
"From this point on, if we're going to be successful in the tournament we need to have 15 or fewer turnovers," he said. "If we do, we have a chance to win."
Triton only turned the ball over 14 times in the game. Until Argos' run in the fourth quarter it looked as if Triton would shut down the Dragons in the second half. The Trojans would trade baskets with Argos early in the third quarter before going on a 13-4 run from the middle of the third until the beginning of the final quarter.
As Kintzel continued to rebound and Devros and Sarber kept scoring, Triton began to get contributions from others as well. Chris Scott bounced back big from a 3-of-18 shooting night against South Central on Friday to score 13 points on 4 of 8 shooting.
Where Triton was getting solid contributions from several players, Argos continued to rely on Dunlap. With the Dragons' center Amber Dorsey fouling out, Dunlap was forced to pick up more slack. On the defensive end, she had five steals in the game. The fast-break baskets created from those steals is what kept Argos within striking distance of Triton.
On offense, Dunlap scored seven of the team's eight third-quarter points. After taking 26 shots in the first three quarters, however, Dunlap began to tire. She could only manage two points in the final quarter on 1 of 5 shooting. With Dunlap struggling, the rest of the Dragons picked up the slack.
Only shooting 25 percent from the field in the first three quarters, Argos improved to shoot 37 percent in the last quarter. That wasn't enough however. Triton showed composure down the stretch and kept Argos from avenging a loss at the hands of the Trojans. In their first meeting Triton won 57-25, this time around it was a totally different team.
"You've got to give Argos credit," Heeter said. "They hung in there until the very end. What an improved team from the one we played early in the year."
Despite Argos' performance, Triton will be hosting the regional. With the new format in class basketball, the regional is only one game. That fact, according to Heeter, gives his team an edge.
"I think that provides an extra incentive. You only have to win one game and you go to semistate. For us we play at home, so that really helps us."
Triton will play No. 10 (Class A) Morgan Township (21-3), who beat Whiting 54-32, in the Triton Regional Saturday. [[In-content Ad]]
CULVER - No matter what your opinion of class basketball is, it does do one thing. It gives teams that would normally not compete for a sectional championship a chance.
An example was Saturday night's Culver girls sectional final of Triton against Argos. Neither school had ever won a girls sectional championship.
Behind the strong play of its starting five, Triton captured that first sectional with a 62-56 win over the Dragons.
Although Triton won, the game was in doubt until the final minute. After Argos' Angie Dunlap hit a jumper, Triton's lead was cut to 57-53. With Argos forced to foul, Triton hit their free throws to preserve the lead.
The game didn't seem to be in so much doubt going into the fourth quarter.
Triton had a 44-33 lead and for the first couple minutes of the quarter was able to keep that lead in double digits. Then Jennifer Yoder took over. She would score the Dragon's next 10 points and close Argos' deficit to 52-49.
While Yoder did her damage in the fourth quarter it was Dunlap who provided the spark for Argos early. Dunlap led all scorers with 24 and had nine of those points in the first quarter to give Argos an 11-10 lead at the end of the quarter.
Triton struggled early from the field, shooting only 4 of 11 from the field in the first quarter. The Trojans would turn that around in the second with their stingy defense. Triton employed a fullcourt trap that forced Argos into several turnovers and hurried shots.
As Triton's defense picked up, so did their offense. The Trojans shot 56 percent from the field in the second and began to pull away from Argos. Argos began to rely heavily on jump shots. Whenever Argos would miss, it seemed as thought Triton's Jessica Kintzel would be there to pull down the board. Kintzel had six of her game-high 15 rebounds in the first half.
With Kintzel controlling the inside, the Dragons had little second-chance opportunities. Triton didn't need many second chances in the second quarter as the inside-outside tandem of Amilia Devros and Megan Sarber combined to score 13 second-quarter points.
Behind the scoring of Sarber and Devros, Triton went into the locker room at halftime with a 31-25 lead.
According to Triton coach Mark Heeter, the Trojans' ability to hang onto the ball is what kept them in the lead and is what will keep them successful for the rest of the year.
"From this point on, if we're going to be successful in the tournament we need to have 15 or fewer turnovers," he said. "If we do, we have a chance to win."
Triton only turned the ball over 14 times in the game. Until Argos' run in the fourth quarter it looked as if Triton would shut down the Dragons in the second half. The Trojans would trade baskets with Argos early in the third quarter before going on a 13-4 run from the middle of the third until the beginning of the final quarter.
As Kintzel continued to rebound and Devros and Sarber kept scoring, Triton began to get contributions from others as well. Chris Scott bounced back big from a 3-of-18 shooting night against South Central on Friday to score 13 points on 4 of 8 shooting.
Where Triton was getting solid contributions from several players, Argos continued to rely on Dunlap. With the Dragons' center Amber Dorsey fouling out, Dunlap was forced to pick up more slack. On the defensive end, she had five steals in the game. The fast-break baskets created from those steals is what kept Argos within striking distance of Triton.
On offense, Dunlap scored seven of the team's eight third-quarter points. After taking 26 shots in the first three quarters, however, Dunlap began to tire. She could only manage two points in the final quarter on 1 of 5 shooting. With Dunlap struggling, the rest of the Dragons picked up the slack.
Only shooting 25 percent from the field in the first three quarters, Argos improved to shoot 37 percent in the last quarter. That wasn't enough however. Triton showed composure down the stretch and kept Argos from avenging a loss at the hands of the Trojans. In their first meeting Triton won 57-25, this time around it was a totally different team.
"You've got to give Argos credit," Heeter said. "They hung in there until the very end. What an improved team from the one we played early in the year."
Despite Argos' performance, Triton will be hosting the regional. With the new format in class basketball, the regional is only one game. That fact, according to Heeter, gives his team an edge.
"I think that provides an extra incentive. You only have to win one game and you go to semistate. For us we play at home, so that really helps us."
Triton will play No. 10 (Class A) Morgan Township (21-3), who beat Whiting 54-32, in the Triton Regional Saturday. [[In-content Ad]]