BOURBON - Despite a 15-2 run by the Rochester Lady Zebras, the Triton girls basketball team was able to withstand the surge for a 55-42 home win Wednesday.
Between the second and third quarters, Rochester (3-5) seemed to be in control, turning an 18-11 deficit into a 26-20 lead. However, once Triton (6-4) regained its footing, the Lady Trojans took off."Triton picked up their intensity, played good defense and we didn't," Rochester coach Tony Stesiak said. "We kind of backed down."
Rochester opened the second half with junior Jenna Crispen scoring 10 points from the low block, but once she had to get some rest, Stesiak saw a change in his girls.
"We forgot Jenna Crispen got us going in the third quarter," he said. "We gave her a little breather, she went back in the game and all of a sudden, we decided we were going to start launching threes and forgot what got us going."
None of Crispen's shots came from outside the lane, as she was left open or just grabbed easy rebounds for scores.
"Sometimes we have trouble concentrating when we're switching up defenses," Triton coach Adam Heckaman said. "We had a couple breakdowns there in the third quarter. Overall, with the expectation of those breakdowns, we played real well defensively."
While Crispen was getting her points for the Lady Zebras, Triton sophomore Shana Anderson was also getting hers - at critical moments.
Following a three-pointer by Lady Zebras senior Kayla Lindsey, Rochester held a 31-26 lead with 1:39 left in the third quarter. From there, Anderson hit back-to-back three-pointers, giving Triton the 32-31 lead.
"Anderson killed us," Stesiak said. "We didn't have an answer. I thought we did a better job guarding (Wabash's) Kaleigh Hensley the other night that we did Anderson."
Hensley is averaging 27 points a game this year, but Anderson came close Tuesday, scoring 23 on 10-of-18 shooting.
"The girls are doing a great, great job of finding her when she's hitting," Triton coach Adam Heckaman said about Anderson, who also recorded team-highs in rebounds (7), steals (3) and assists (3). "She scores in spurts. Sometimes, she won't score at all in the first half, then she'll have a big quarter. The girls know when she's hitting, and they get her the ball. They screen for her and everybody makes sure we're finding who we need to at the right times."
Anderson's back-to-back three-pointers gave Triton a lead it wouldn't relinquish, as the Lady Trojans hit 9 of 12 fourth-quarter free throws.
Joining Anderson in the scoring column were senior Allison Thacker and junior Megan Howdeshell, who scored 11 and 10 points, respectively.
The win is Triton's third straight, and the Lady Trojans now prepare to face the Warsaw Lady Tigers at the Orthopaedic Capital Center Tuesday at Grace College.
"They're getting on a little bit of a roll," Heckaman said about the 4-3 Lady Tigers. "Their guards, their young kids, are really stepping up and figuring out their roles and what they need to do. They have some good bigs down low, so they're going to be a tough battle for us. It's going to be good for us. The experience is going to be great."
