Triton Tops County Rival Argos
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
"We tried to get the monkey off our backs, so to speak," Triton coach Paul Walker said, whose team improved to 1-2 with the victory. "Our inexperience showed a little bit late, but they fought through."[[In-content Ad]]After falling behind 7-6 with 4:45 remaining in the first quarter, Triton went on to take the lead on a Jessica Ganshorn bucket a minute later, holding that lead until just under two minutes remained in the game. Thanks to five consecutive missed free throws by the Trojans and 11 straight points by the Dragons, a Kassi Hensley three-pointer gave Argos a 44-43 lead with 1:48 remaining. But from there, Triton junior Bethany Lemler stepped up to hit a trey from the top of the key, regaining a lead her team wouldn't relinquish.
"She really hit a big shot for us," Walker said. "I think the lead was up to 10, then they get three threes and all of a sudden it goes from just trying to run out the clock to fighting for your life. It was real encouraging to see us not buckle under those conditions. We responded, made a play, and Bethany stepped up and hit a big shot."
On the night, Triton connected on 6 of 17 three-point attempts, three coming from Lemler and two from junior Paige Davis.
Aside from just hitting the three-point shots, the girls also hit them at opportune times. Davis closed out the first quarter by nailing her first triple with just nine seconds remaining and Lemler closed out the first half by dropping a three-point basket as time expired, both shots serving as demoralizers for the Dragons.
"We've really emphasized when to take it and when not to take it," Walker said of the three-point shot. "We're trying to get some penetration and some post touches early in the game, so it loosens things up. Our post players are gradually getting better with (Bethany) Shively, (Brittany) Wallace and (Kayla) Tutorow. As they progress, it will make things easier for us on the perimeter."
Getting that penetration was bestowed on senior point guard Jessica Ganshorn. The senior opened the game scoring eight of her game-high 15 points in the opening quarter, the same amount of points as Argos' Kelsie Hollabaugh.
"She did a good job of taking care of the ball, a good job of getting into the lane with penetration, which really caused (Argos) fits," Walker said of Ganshorn. "On the other side of things, even though there were a couple three-minute stretches where we lost track of things, for the most part, she stayed composed and under control with her defense."
On Argos' side, coach Shelly Newell is also working with inexperience, trying to replace departed players Desireé Gilbert and Amberly O'Dell, who's currently a member of the Central Michigan basketball team. Particularly without O'Dell, Newell's trying to get her girls to be more active in the offense, not just looking to pass the ball off.
"We just need to eliminate mistakes," she said. "But you've got girls playing in places they haven't had to before and they have to think quicker than they did before."
Triton will look to even its record when South Central comes to Bourbon Saturday for a noon junior varsity tipoff.
"We tried to get the monkey off our backs, so to speak," Triton coach Paul Walker said, whose team improved to 1-2 with the victory. "Our inexperience showed a little bit late, but they fought through."[[In-content Ad]]After falling behind 7-6 with 4:45 remaining in the first quarter, Triton went on to take the lead on a Jessica Ganshorn bucket a minute later, holding that lead until just under two minutes remained in the game. Thanks to five consecutive missed free throws by the Trojans and 11 straight points by the Dragons, a Kassi Hensley three-pointer gave Argos a 44-43 lead with 1:48 remaining. But from there, Triton junior Bethany Lemler stepped up to hit a trey from the top of the key, regaining a lead her team wouldn't relinquish.
"She really hit a big shot for us," Walker said. "I think the lead was up to 10, then they get three threes and all of a sudden it goes from just trying to run out the clock to fighting for your life. It was real encouraging to see us not buckle under those conditions. We responded, made a play, and Bethany stepped up and hit a big shot."
On the night, Triton connected on 6 of 17 three-point attempts, three coming from Lemler and two from junior Paige Davis.
Aside from just hitting the three-point shots, the girls also hit them at opportune times. Davis closed out the first quarter by nailing her first triple with just nine seconds remaining and Lemler closed out the first half by dropping a three-point basket as time expired, both shots serving as demoralizers for the Dragons.
"We've really emphasized when to take it and when not to take it," Walker said of the three-point shot. "We're trying to get some penetration and some post touches early in the game, so it loosens things up. Our post players are gradually getting better with (Bethany) Shively, (Brittany) Wallace and (Kayla) Tutorow. As they progress, it will make things easier for us on the perimeter."
Getting that penetration was bestowed on senior point guard Jessica Ganshorn. The senior opened the game scoring eight of her game-high 15 points in the opening quarter, the same amount of points as Argos' Kelsie Hollabaugh.
"She did a good job of taking care of the ball, a good job of getting into the lane with penetration, which really caused (Argos) fits," Walker said of Ganshorn. "On the other side of things, even though there were a couple three-minute stretches where we lost track of things, for the most part, she stayed composed and under control with her defense."
On Argos' side, coach Shelly Newell is also working with inexperience, trying to replace departed players Desireé Gilbert and Amberly O'Dell, who's currently a member of the Central Michigan basketball team. Particularly without O'Dell, Newell's trying to get her girls to be more active in the offense, not just looking to pass the ball off.
"We just need to eliminate mistakes," she said. "But you've got girls playing in places they haven't had to before and they have to think quicker than they did before."
Triton will look to even its record when South Central comes to Bourbon Saturday for a noon junior varsity tipoff.
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