ARGOS — In a battle of top 10 Class 1A teams, the Triton girls basketball team prevailed Tuesday in Argos. Ranked No. 6, the Triton Lady Trojans (2-0) had just one lapse in their 54-47 win over No. 10 Lady Dragons (1-1). Leading the entire first half, Triton missed its first 10 shots of the third quarter, slipping behind 29-26 in the process. Following a bucket by junior Mallorie Jennings, the Lady Trojans embarked on a 5-0 run to close the quarter and regain control. “There were a lot of ebbs and flows in the game,” first-year Argos coach Gary Teel said. “I really felt good when we had that nice run to get back in the game, after being down at halftime. I thought the kids responded well. We kind of had the momentum going our way, then we had two turnovers in a row that led to baskets and put them back ahead.” “They kind of got it rolling and we looked nervous,” Triton coach Adam Heckaman said about the third quarter. “I talked to the girls after the game about, if they stick together and play for each other, things will come around. That’s what they did. We missed a lot of easy shots, they didn’t fall, but we kept attacking, pushing and making the extra pass to get the open shot. Then, they started to fall again.” Argos cut the lead to 33-31 early in the fourth, but Triton used another 5-0 run to go up 38-31 with 6:08 remaining and really seized control of the game. Following a three-pointer by Argos senior Jami Patterson, the Lady Dragons were within 49-42 with 1:20 to play, but Triton’s free-throw shooting sealed it, as it hit 4 of 5 down the stretch and 17 of 20 in the game. “We’re a jump-shooting team, so I know we can shoot the ball,” Heckaman said. “A lot of times, that translates into decent free throw shooting. We have girls that can step up and knock them down.” Triton’s top free throw shooter was junior point guard Taylor Hatfield, who connected on 13 of 14, including 8 of 8 in the first quarter. Her free throw shooting helped her score 15 points to go with six assists, four rebounds and three steals, but she gave her coach a big scare when she stayed on the floor with 6:11 remaining in the third quarter. Getting mixed up in the paint, Hatfield hit the ground and had to be helped off with an arm injury. However, she returned in the quarter and went on to get three steals in the fourth. “That definitely made me nervous,” Heckaman said. “She’s tough. She doesn’t go down very often, because she doesn’t like to come out. When she was down, I knew she was hurting pretty good. It ended up, she kind of just hyperextended (her elbow) a little bit. We got some ice on it and she was feeling better.” Along with Hatfield’s production, Triton senior Shana Anderson had 20 points, 10 rebounds and three steals, while sophomore Kylie Mason scored eight to go with two assists and two steals. Entering the season with plenty of speed, Heckaman had been concerned with his team height. Against Argos, they were the smaller team, but were only outrebounded 37-35 and got the win. “We have to be able to play against big teams, because there’s a lot of them on our schedule,” Heckaman said. “We play Plymouth Thursday night, they have big kids, South Central’s best two players are big kids (who Triton plays Friday). We have to be able to battle the teams that are bigger than us, because quite honestly, we aren’t going to be bigger than anybody.” Despite the loss, Teel is happy to be back in back in the gym after taking two years off after coaching at Tippecanoe Valley. “It’s great,” he said about being back on the sidelines. “I really enjoy it. The job came open and my wife and kids encouraged me to apply for it. I missed coaching a lot and I wanted to get back into it. To be honest, I couldn’t have found a better place to coach.”
