Shen girls handle Troy on senior night, remain perfect with 73-38 win
They didn’t have the same introductions that you normally see on senior nights, but when the Shen girls took the floor on Thursday afternoon, their four seniors were all out there to make the most of the moment.
“We had a couple checklist items that we wanted to get through. The first game was one and then senior night,” said Shenendehowa Head Coach Joe Murphy. His four seniors this year are Meghan Huerter, Rylee Carpenter, Jenna Slader and Sam Lee.
“It was a day for them to cherish what they’ve been through. Six years for Meg, five years for Rylee and Sam, four years for Jenna in our program. It means something for them to wear the Shen on their chest and for them to make it through the program is an accomplishment in itself.”
After the pictures were taken, flowers were given and balloons flown, Shen got to work by defeating Troy 7338 and improving to 4-0 on
the season.
“They came out and they were being really aggressive and I think we just needed to match that and improve our intensity,” Huerter said of Troy in the beginning of the game, who started out to a 4-0 lead.
Shen would respond to finish the first quarter with a 20-12 lead and build that to 40-23 by the half. Most noticeable in Shen’s game-plan on Thursday was how they spread the floor and passed the ball.
“We know where everyone likes to get the ball on the floor, so I think that playing years of basketball together and our relationship on and off the court really helps that come together and we see the floor really well as a team,” Huerter said, who started the game with her three fellow seniors and sister, Jillian.
As the game got deeper, the Plainsmen continued to pile on, scoring 20 points in each of the first three quarters and 13 in the fourth. Defensively Shen got better each quarter as well. After allowing Troy to score 12 in the first and 11 in the second, the Flying Horses scored eight in the third and seven in the fourth.
The senior Huerter led all scorers with 23 points, which is also her jersey number. Rylee Carpenter followed with 14 points. Bri Carey added 13 and Jillian Huerter put up 12. Sam Lee scored six point and had seven rebounds.
For Troy, seniors Jenalyse Alacron and Jakaiya Dewer each scored 12 points to lead the Flying Horses.
As a team, Shen combined for at-least 25 assists, with Jillian Huerter leading the way in that category with six. While senior Jenna Slader didn’t get anything in the points column, she did contribute five assists. Meghan Huerter had six rebounds and fives assists as well.
In the stands during the game, aside from a few cardboard cutouts, were the parents of the four seniors.
“As of last week, I didn’t think they would get to be here, so it’s definitely nice that they were able to come,” Carpenter said of the senior festivities. “It was definitely really exciting because we didn’t know if we were going to be able to have one this year. I’m grateful for everyone who helped get everything together and make it such a good day for us. It’s something we’ll never forget.”
“It’s a special day and kind of bitter-sweet, but I wouldn’t want to spend my senior year with anyone else.”
For Huerter, who has experienced senior nights going back many years on the varsity squad, as well as her brother Kevin’s, she knows just how different this year’s actually was.
“Usually it’s our last home game of the season, like our last hurrah in the Shen gym. It’s just special to be able to celebrate our four seniors,” she said. “I think the biggest takeaway was wearing masks, being socially distanced and not having as many fans as we normally would get.”