BOURBON -ÊHome sweet home.

The Triton Trojans girls basketball team hosted the Class A sectional last week; they host the regional and semistate this week as well. And they figure they might as well be playing as long as they are at home.

The Trojans got one step closer to reaching that goal after defeating Culver and Oregon-Davis in the sectional Saturday. After defeating Culver 54-25 in the semifinal round, the Trojans faced off against Oregon-Davis in the sectional final and came out on top 64-46. The Trojans won their third straight sectional title.

Although the Triton squad earned an 18-point victory, it was not an easy victory. After the first half of play, the Trojans held a slim 19-18 lead.

However, an 11-2 Trojan run started the second half, and they took a 32-20 lead at the 4:26 mark in the third frame. That 11-point run was a result of a balanced scoring drive that saw Ashli Senff, Rachel Speicher, Betsy Salyer, Missy Nifong and Brandie Ganshorn hit baskets for Triton.

By the end of the quarter, Triton had outscored Oregon-Davis 24-9 and increased its lead to 16, 43-27.

"The third quarter was the difference in the game," said Triton coach Mark Heeter. "We picked it up a bit and started hitting shots that we hadn't hit in the first half."

The Trojans increased their lead to 24 at the 4:57 mark in the final quarter when Speicher and Salyer combined for three points in six seconds. Speicher stepped to the charity stripe and hit a free throw. Her next shot bounced off the rim but Salyer grabbed the rebound and tossed in a basket to complete the three-point play.

That was the biggest lead Triton held in the game as Oregon-Davis fought back in the final minutes of the fourth frame. In the last 1:32, Oregon-Davis outscored Triton 8-5, but it was not enough to dig out of the hole they had built in the third stanza.

Triton outscored the Bobcats 21-19 in the last quarter of play as the Trojans earned a 64-46 sectional championship victory.

"We changed our offense in the second half," said Heeter. "I told the girls to relax. We looked really tense."

Nifong led the Trojans with 18 points and four steals, while Salyer added 12 points and 10 rebounds. Rachel Speicher chipped in 11 points for the Triton squad. Brandie Ganshorn added six points while dishing out five assists.

"Overall this was an excellent team effort," said Heeter. "It was a good team game. Ganshorn was getting the ball to people. Missy (Nifong) and Betsy (Salyer) played well. Amber Felman came off the bench and played very well also."

Triton will now face 13-8 Kouts in the Triton Regional Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.

TRITON 64

OREGON-DAVIS 46

Triton 11 8 24 21 - 64

Oregon-Davis 10 8 9 19 - 46

Triton FG FT R S Pts.

*Senff (G) 2-7 0-0 1 0 5

*Speicher (F) 4-8 3-4 6 0 11

*Ganshorn (G) 2-5 2-2 2 4 7

*Nifong (F) 8-18 0-0 6 4 18

*Salyer (C) 6-10 0-0 10 2 12

A. Feldman 2-5 2-4 5 2 6

Salisbury 1-1 0-0 1 0 2

Kreiter 0-0 1-4 1 0 1

Miller 0-0 2-2 0 0 2

C. Feldman 0-0 2-2 0 0 2

Bates 0-0 0-0 1 0 0

Bell 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Totals 24-55 12-18 33 12 64

Oregon-Davis FG FT R S Pts.

*Johnson (F) 2-7 2-2 4 0 7

*Rust (G) 2-9 5-7 4 2 10

*T. Kensinger (F) 6-13 0-3 9 1 12

*Fosler (C) 1-2 2-2 4 0 4

*Minix (G) 2-4 0-0 3 1 4

Dunbar 1-2 0-0 1 0 2

L. Kensinger 0-2 3-5 4 1 3

Wilson 2-2 0-0 1 0 4

Totals 16-39 12-19 30 5 46

Three-point goals -ÊTriton 4-13 (Nifong 2-7, Ganshorn 1-3, Senff 1-2, A. Feldman 0-1), Oregon-Davis 2-7 (Johnson 1-2, Rust 1-2, T. Kensinger 0-1, Minix 0-2). Turnovers -ÊTriton 15, Oregon-Davis 20. Total fouls -Ê18, Oregon-Davis 20. Fouled out -ÊSenff, Johnson.

Semifinals

Game One

TRITON 54, CULVER 25

Culver 3 8 2 12 - 25

Triton 17 10 17 12 - 54

Triton -ÊSenff 7 2-2 16, Kreiter 0 0-0 0, Speicher 3 0-0 6, Miller 0 1-2 1, Feldman 1 0-1 2, Ganshorn 1 1-2 3, A. Feldman 1 0-1 2, C. Feldman 0 0-0 0, Salisbury 2 0-0 4, Bates 0 0-0 0, Nifong 6 0-0 12, Salyer 4 1-2 9, McIntyre 0 1-3 1. Totals -Ê24 6-12 54.

Culver -ÊWidner 2 0-0 5, Bean 1 0-0 2, Stevens 4 2-4 10, Ringer 0 0-1 0, Scroggs 1 0-0 2, Beever 1 0-0 2, Holcomb 0 0-0 0, Wentzel 1 0-0 2, Davis 1 0-0 2. Totals -Ê11 2-5 25.

Three-point goals -ÊTriton 0, Culver 1 (Widner). Rebounds -ÊTriton 56 (Salyer 11, Nifong 10), Culver 26. Assists -ÊTriton 18 (Ganshorn 8), Culver 7. Steals -ÊTriton 8 (Kreiter 2), Culver 13. Total fouls -ÊTriton 13, Culver 13. Fouled out -ÊNone. Turnovers -ÊTriton 18, Culver 12.

Game Two

OREGON-DAVIS 63, SOUTH CENTRAL 52

All-Sectional Team -ÊNifong (T), Senff (T), Salyer (T), Rust (OD), Kensinger (OD)

MVP -ÊSalyer (T) [[In-content Ad]]