Triton Faces Another Tough Assignment
January 28, 2019 at 8:07 p.m.
By Mark [email protected]
The Lady Trojans will face South Central, who will have the seven-team field’s best record, in the opening round at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Triton coach Adam Heckaman insists things are different since the Lady Satellites handed Triton a 46-33 loss back on Nov. 8, the second Triton game of the season.
“A lot of things have changed since we played South Central the first time,” he said. “They are the strongest team in the field and we will have to play well on both ends of the floor in order to advance. We will have to limit their fast break points.
“In order to do that the biggest key for us will be taking care of the ball. If we limit our turnovers and make good decisions on the offensive end then we will at least give our defense a chance to slow them down.”
After losing the first five games and eight of the first 10, adversity reared its ugly head when junior Whytnie Miller suffered a season-ending knee injury. A leading three-point threat, Miller averaged six points and three rebounds in her six games this year.
So Triton regrouped.
“When Whytnie tore her other ACL early in the season, they could have felt bad for themselves and folded. These girls worked harder and harder as the season went on to improve and find ways to stay in games,” Heckaman said. “They are playing as well right now as they have all season and are excited about the opportunity to see what they can do in the tournament.
“This group of girls has worked very hard to improve in every area possible. The most improvement we have seen though has been our consistency on the defensive end. They have worked very hard to understand our defensive rotations better and how to take certain options away from the other team. They have bought in to trying to control the defensive end of the floor so if we struggle on the offensive end we can still have a chance to win.”
Only sophomore Lexia Hostrawser has started every game this season, and sophomore Jaela Faulkner has started each game she was available. Seniors Delanie Groves and Chelsea Johnson have started the majority of the games, but there’s been quite a lot of lineup shuffling this season, giving some younger players valuable varsity playing time.
“We have mixed and matched starters this season for various reasons,” said Heckaman. “Sometimes we have mixed up the lineup simply for matchup reasons. A few times we have had players miss practices before games due to sickness. Certain lineups for us handle pressure better than others and certain lineups defend better, so most of the mixing up of lineups has been due to what we have felt will get us off to the best start.”
The Lady Trojans average around 30 points a game, placing a premium on rebounding and defense. Hostrawser, Johnson and junior Alyxa Viers all pull down close to five rebounds per game, and Faulkner finds a couple of boards each night as well. As a team Triton gets about 29 boards per contest.
“Rebounding this year has been a stronger point for us,” said Heckaman. “With Lexia, Alyxa, and Chelsea down in the paint they do a good job of going to the boards. Jaela has also done a great job of rebounding from the guard position. With a strong focus on the defensive end it has been very important for us to finish the possessions with the rebound and will be equally important against South Central to do the same.”
With a win, Triton would face South Bend Career Academy in the semifinals at 6:30 p.m. EST Friday. On the other side of the bracket, LaCrosse takes on Culver at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, followed by Argos and host Oregon-Davis.
The title game is scheduled for 8 p.m. Saturday.
The Lady Trojans will face South Central, who will have the seven-team field’s best record, in the opening round at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Triton coach Adam Heckaman insists things are different since the Lady Satellites handed Triton a 46-33 loss back on Nov. 8, the second Triton game of the season.
“A lot of things have changed since we played South Central the first time,” he said. “They are the strongest team in the field and we will have to play well on both ends of the floor in order to advance. We will have to limit their fast break points.
“In order to do that the biggest key for us will be taking care of the ball. If we limit our turnovers and make good decisions on the offensive end then we will at least give our defense a chance to slow them down.”
After losing the first five games and eight of the first 10, adversity reared its ugly head when junior Whytnie Miller suffered a season-ending knee injury. A leading three-point threat, Miller averaged six points and three rebounds in her six games this year.
So Triton regrouped.
“When Whytnie tore her other ACL early in the season, they could have felt bad for themselves and folded. These girls worked harder and harder as the season went on to improve and find ways to stay in games,” Heckaman said. “They are playing as well right now as they have all season and are excited about the opportunity to see what they can do in the tournament.
“This group of girls has worked very hard to improve in every area possible. The most improvement we have seen though has been our consistency on the defensive end. They have worked very hard to understand our defensive rotations better and how to take certain options away from the other team. They have bought in to trying to control the defensive end of the floor so if we struggle on the offensive end we can still have a chance to win.”
Only sophomore Lexia Hostrawser has started every game this season, and sophomore Jaela Faulkner has started each game she was available. Seniors Delanie Groves and Chelsea Johnson have started the majority of the games, but there’s been quite a lot of lineup shuffling this season, giving some younger players valuable varsity playing time.
“We have mixed and matched starters this season for various reasons,” said Heckaman. “Sometimes we have mixed up the lineup simply for matchup reasons. A few times we have had players miss practices before games due to sickness. Certain lineups for us handle pressure better than others and certain lineups defend better, so most of the mixing up of lineups has been due to what we have felt will get us off to the best start.”
The Lady Trojans average around 30 points a game, placing a premium on rebounding and defense. Hostrawser, Johnson and junior Alyxa Viers all pull down close to five rebounds per game, and Faulkner finds a couple of boards each night as well. As a team Triton gets about 29 boards per contest.
“Rebounding this year has been a stronger point for us,” said Heckaman. “With Lexia, Alyxa, and Chelsea down in the paint they do a good job of going to the boards. Jaela has also done a great job of rebounding from the guard position. With a strong focus on the defensive end it has been very important for us to finish the possessions with the rebound and will be equally important against South Central to do the same.”
With a win, Triton would face South Bend Career Academy in the semifinals at 6:30 p.m. EST Friday. On the other side of the bracket, LaCrosse takes on Culver at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, followed by Argos and host Oregon-Davis.
The title game is scheduled for 8 p.m. Saturday.
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