BOURBON – Triton’s girls basketball team started the season in less-than-ideal fashion, dropping its first six games Since then, the Lady Trojans have recovered to take the first-ever Hoosier North Conference title, and have turned things arounded heading into the Culver 1A Sectional. The young squad took its share of lumps this season, losing early games to Argos, Bremen, Plymouth and NorthWood. But some of the Lady Trojan wins have been over Winamac, Caston, New Prairie and Knox. “We started off slow for a variety of reasons,” head coach Adam Heckaman said. “We had a lot of turnover from last year’s team and a short time frame for practice because of volleyball (winning a sectional title). On top of that we play a very difficult schedule and had a lot to learn. “It took us some time but the combination of getting practices in, getting healthy, and learning from our games contributed to better success as the season progressed. The girls did a fantastic job of staying the course and believing in what we were doing and finally started to see the benefits of it.” Sophomore Hannah Wanemacher has been the offensive sparkplug for Triton, averaging around 14 points a game. Classmates Charlotte Morris and Nichole Sechrist have been contributing all season. Quinn Downing, Shayla May Brooklyn Beatty and Sarah Stevens play plenty of minutes. Senior Jaela Meister has worked hard to stay on the floor in spite of a knee injury that lingers. She’s the Lady Trojans’ second-leading scorer at a touch over eight points a contest, and recently scored 18 in a win over Winamac and 16 in a win over sectional host Culver. She also provides leadership and inspiration to a new generation of Lady Trojans. “Jaela has battled a knee problem all year,” Heckaman said. “It's her senior year, though, and she is going to continue to give everything she has and that her body will allow her to give to finish it out.” The key to the Lady Trojans’ turnaround is defense. They hold opponents to about 41 points a game, but in their victories that average drops to the neighborhood of 26 points a contest. Triton has three players, Meister, Sechrist and Morris, who average better than four rebounds a game, and Wanemacher is averaging better than three boards per game. In a recent four-game winning streak, they held opponents to 25 points a game, while averaging 51 per contest. Heckaman said for his team to continue playing this week and beyond, that trend will need to continue. “In order for us to win our sectional we have to focus on the task at hand and we have to stay consistent with our defensive effort,” he said. “Defense has been what has kept us in games and given us chances to win games. “If we focus on the opponent we have to play and do what we need to defensively we will give ourselves a chance in each game.” Teams are often judged and remembered by win-loss records and postseason performance. Heckaman said this team’s season will be remembered for a lot of reasons. “People will remember this group by the improvements they've made. They have put a lot of hard work in to have the turnaround from the beginning of the season to the point where we are at now,” he said. “In addition to that, people will always remember them as the first-ever HNAC conference champs.” Triton plays in the second game of the six-team Culver Sectional, taking on North Miami of the Three Rivers Conference at around 8 p.m., after the Argos/Culver game at 6:30. With a win, Triton would take on South Central (Union Mills) in the second semifinal Feb. 5. The first semifinal will feature the winner of the Argos/Culver game against LaCrosse. The sectional championship game is scheduled for Saturday at 7 p.m.
