BOURBON – When the 2014-15 season schedule was under construction, Triton was looking to build for this time of year, the postseason. So when head coach Adam Heckaman reflects on the Class 1A No. 7 Lady Trojans’ regular season, his point of view may differ from the fan measuring success strictly on wins and losses. “Our schedule proved to be extra difficult this season because of the quality of the 3A schools on our schedule, such as Tippecanoe Valley, NorthWood, Rochester and John Glenn,” he said. “These games and others provided us with an opportunity to learn how to compete at a high level against many different styles of play. “So in retrospect, I believe our schedule has done what it needed to do for us and has taught us that we can compete and have a chance to win in any type of game against any level of opponent.” Statistical leadership has come from Jaela Meister, Kylie Mason, Becca Kennedy and Lauren Hostrawser. The quartet accounts for about 80 percent of the team’s scoring and more than half the Lady Trojans’ rebounding. A significant drawback to the schedule has been the lack of court time for role players. “What made this season difficult at times was our lack of developing our bench,” Heckaman said. “Because of the strength of our schedule we often times found ourselves in tight games the entire way through, which limited our bench’s playing time. I think it made us stronger with our top seven but made it harder to get significant minutes for the rest of our bench.” The team also has a never-say-die attitude that serves them well. “Our ability to bounce back this season has been a tribute to the nature of our girls,” said Heckaman. “We have a lot of girls that don't take losing very well at all. When it has happened we’ve had opportunities to win. “It's made the girls push harder to make sure those close losses don't happen again. It’s helped us to bounce back and take some frustrations out on the next team after a loss.” Triton has a bye in the first round, meaning it’ll take just two victories to win what may be the toughest 1A sectional in the state. The tournament features four top-10 teams, including the No. 7 Lady Trojans, and every team comes in with a winning record. They will open sectional play in the semifinals against the winner between No. 5 South Central and No. 6 Culver Community. LaCrosse has the other bye in the six-team sectional and gets the winner of the game between fourth-ranked Oregon-Davis and Argos in the other semi. “Our sectional is loaded again this year with some of the best teams in 1A. This is exactly why we felt it was important to play a difficult schedule so we would have to consistently play at a high level every night,” Heckaman said. “In our sectional we will be playing a winning team every night and will more than likely be playing a ranked team multiple times in the same week. “The bye does seem like a good draw, we’re just going to have to guard against coming out rusty. We played on Friday, then don't play again for a week, so we‘ll have plenty of time to prepare. “I'd like to think that whoever can come out of our sectional will have a shot to make a deep run, but honestly once you get to the tournament everyone has the same shot at moving on each night. “What you've done during the season hopefully prepares you for the tourney, but you still have to show up and play, and I think that will be the most important thing for us to focus on.” The Lady Trojans are in search of their first sectional championship since 2011. Triton advanced to the sectional final a year ago, but fell 60-42 to eventual state champion Oregon-Davis. Oregon-Davis has eliminated Triton for state tournament play in each of the past three seasons. The Lady Trojans hosted and defeated Oregon-Davis 60-47 on Jan. 17.
