Looking to turn the page after a season-opening loss by double digits to John Glenn, the Triton girls basketball team had the perfect opportunity on Tuesday night in the form of the team’s home opener against Argos. The Lady Trojans bounced back in a big way, earning a double digit victory of their own in a 46-32 win.
The game’s opening minutes would best be described as sloppy. From the jump, it was apparent that the Triton defense had come to play, as all five defenders on the court used quick hands and feet to jump into passing lanes and pick off passes, leading to a plethora of early turnovers by the Lady Dragons. Unfortunately for the Lady Trojans, the same thing was happening at the other end. With each team struggling to put the ball in the basket, the scoreboard remained bare in the first few minutes.
Leading the charge defensively were sophomores Sierra Hawley and Avery Viers, who were forces throughout the game. Hawley used her quickness to come up with more than a handful of steals, while Viers was a stonewall inside, not letting Argos get anything to go near the rim.

    Triton senior Jocelynn Faulkner steals the ball from Morgyn Barcus of Argos during the first quarter. Photo by Gary Nieter

Eventually, Triton would take the lid off of the basket, with junior Sydney King beginning what would turn into a great night shooting the ball by nailing a few threes in the first quarter. Senior Addyson Viers hit one as well, but was forced to leave the game after suffering an injury while driving to the basket.
Leading 9-8 going into the second quarter, the Lady Trojans enjoyed a much quicker start than they did in the first, scoring five quick points and forcing the Lady Dragons to burn a timeout two minutes in. Things got even better following the break, as Addyson Viers returned to the court after briefly being checked out for an injury.
After returning, Viers made up for lost time on the offensive end by using her deep bag of post moves to score some easy buckets. The strong shooting of King continued, as the guard made two more threes in the second to get into double figures. With the offense figuring it out and the defense still rolling, Triton was able to extend its lead into double digits for the first time in the game. After scoring just 26 points in a season-opening loss to John Glenn last Thursday, Triton went into halftime with a 28-18 lead.
Things kept getting better to start off the third, as Triton continued to extend its lead. The Lady Trojans scored the first nine points of the quarter on a run that spanned the first four and a half minutes. Addyson Viers became the second Lady Trojan to reach double figures, scoring seven of those nine points from inside and out. With less than three minutes left in the third, Jocelynn Faulkner became the fifth starter to score a point, extending the lead to 20 in the process. As the fourth quarter began, the lead sat at 18.
In the final quarter, the lead remained at 18 for some time, as each side once again struggled to put points on the board. Eventually, Argos would find some rhythm and cut away at the deficit, but the defense of the Lady Trojans was able to do just enough to keep things from getting tight. It didn’t hurt that Addyson had become ungaurdable after coming back into the game, finishing with a team-high 17 points.
King finished her night with 12 points. Avery Viers had five points and led the team with eight rebounds. Hawley had six points and six steals.
Triton plays its next game Friday at home against South Central (Union Mills).