The girls’ basketball teams from Owensboro and Trinity High Schools stayed undefeated in the final day of the Independence Bank Shoot Out on Saturday.
The Lady Devils (4-0) came away with convincing wins over Fort Campbell and Trigg County, while the Lady Raiders (3-1), hosts of the tournament, took care of Cannelton (Ind.).
Players from Owensboro and Trinity earned the Independence Bank Player of the Game in each contest. For Owensboro, Lyric Lawrence was chosen against Fort Campbell and Nia Gonzo against Trigg County. Trinity’s Josie Aull was chosen in the game against Cannelton.
Owensboro 61, Fort Campbell 7
In their first game of the day, the Lady Devils used a balanced scoring attack to pull away early, and head coach Jansen Locher was pleased with the opportunity to get some of his younger players acclimated to varsity standards against the Lady Falcons.
“We played a Fort Campbell team who weren’t quite themselves today,” Locher said. “They had a few players out with injury and one missing for a funeral. They have a new coach this year who is doing a good job. It was a good game for us to get some of our younger players some game time, to run some things we haven’t had a chance to work on yet and ultimately to tune up for our first district game next week against Daviess County.”
Locher has desire for success in the third region and district tournaments, and he said he has a few specific areas in mind that he hopes will play big factors during the season.
“We’re going to use our athleticism to our advantage,” Locher said. “We want to turn defense into offense and score transition buckets. We know we have three or four solid scoring options, but we want to get everyone involved on both ends of the court. Another thing we like to take advantage of is getting to the free throw line and converting on those opportunities as well. If we can do all of that, I think we will have a chance to be competitive against anybody this year.”
Owensboro stats: Amaya Curry (11 points), Lyric Lawrence (9 points), Tayonna Greer (7 points), Maykael Winstead (6 points), Kaylyn Sowders (6 points), Nia Gonzo (6 points), Tamia Smith (4 points), Lemiya Greer (4 points), Krystell Pappas (4 points), Tamia Chambers (2 points) and Chloe Fortwendel (2 points)
Owensboro 73, Trigg County 48
The Lady Devils encountered a bit more opposition against the Lady Wildcats of Trigg County. Locher felt as if his team’s man-to-man defense was a bit weaker than he’d like it to be, which prompted a switch back to a 2-3 zone.
“They gave us a little bit of trouble in the first half while we were running man-to-man,” Locher said. “We need to work on improving our help defense when we’re not playing a zone.”
On the other end, he said he was happy with the effort and the team got a big performance today from Gonzo with 14 points.
“Our guards did a good job of taking the ball to the basket in the second half, which got Trigg into some foul trouble and enabled us to pull away towards the end of the game,” Locher said.
The defensive switch, along with strong guard play from starters Amaya Curry and Tayonna Greer, ensured victory for OHS. Curry and Greer combined for 42 of the Lady Devil’s 73 points. Locher was proud of his girls and said the team received a boost from the depth they were able to deploy in the tournament.
“We had several highlight performances all weekend,” Locher said. “Amaya Curry scored 30 last night, Lyric Lawrence came in and really helped on defense and rebounding today, and Mykael Winstead probably had 30 steals in the three games this weekend.”
Owensboro stats: Tayonna Greer (22 points), Amaya Curry (20 points), Nia Gonzo (10 points, 14 rebounds), Mykael Winstead (10 points), Krystell Pappas (4 points), Lamiya Greer (3 points), Lyric Lawrence (3 points) and Kaylyn Sowders (1 point)
Trinity 66, Cannelton 36
Tournament host Trinity took down visiting Cannelton, improving their home record to two wins against zero losses on the year. The Bulldogs managed to keep the game close throughout the first quarter, which concluded in an 8-8 tie. However, riding a huge shooting display from eighth-grader Josie Aull, the Lady Raiders pulled away comfortably. Leading 24-13 following the halftime break, Trinity outscored Cannelton by 19 points in the second half.
Trinity head coach John Cummings felt his team came out sluggish, playing in their third game in three days. After the game, Cummings said he was proud of the resilience that his youthful team showed.
“We played a much better second half, after making a few adjustments,” he said. “Our inside game got better, which allowed Georgia Howard and Jessie Aull to get going from long distance. Those girls can definitely fill it up when they’re open. We’re a young team, but we will get tougher and stronger.”
As the game progressed, the Lady Raiders found a rhythm on defense, forcing the Bulldogs into some untimely turnovers that led to several transition buckets. Cannelton, the second-smallest public high school in the state of Indiana, only dresses five varsity girls players. Trinity exploited that lack of depth and ultimately wore out an overmatched team.
Trinity stats: Josie Aull (24 points, 6 3-pointers made), Georgia Howard (15 points), Cassidy Morris (12 points), Nina Wathen (7 points), Morgan Kinsey (6 points), Hadley Hatfield (2 points).
Looking Ahead
OHS: The Lady Devils have a busy schedule next week, starting with a pair of road games in McClean County at 7:30 p.m. Monday followed by a 7:30 p.mm Tuesday meeting with Muhlenberg County. Owensboro stays on the road with a short trip to Daviess County on Friday at 5:30 p.m. for their first district matchup of the season.
THS: The Lady Raiders play two home games next week on Tuesday and Thursday. Their opponents will be Edmonson County and Butler, respectively. Both games are scheduled for 6 p.m. tipoff times.
