Triton pulls off comeback, goes nuts in OT
BOURBON — If every Hoosier North Athletic Conference game for high school girls basketball goes like Wednesday’s game between Triton and Laville did, fans better bring their anxiety meds with them.
The Lady Trojans overcame an early eight-point deficit, then later came back from 10 points down to force overtime before going on an offensive binge to defeat the Lady Lancers, 49-34, in the HNAC opener for both teams.
Laville looked like it was going to blow out the home team, jumping out to an 8-0 lead before Sydney King single-handedly brought Triton back with eight unanswered points to forge a tie going into the second quarter.
The second frame was almost the same thing, but on a smaller scale as LV scored the first five points, but a 3 by King - her 11th straight point for Triton helped to keep the Lady Trojans close at halftime.
Behind a couple of slick assists from Brooke Edison and back-to-back 3s from Mackena Deason and Ava Weil, Laville broke things open again with a 10-0 run in the third quarter and still led by eight starting the fourth period. But from there on, it was all Triton.
Jocelynn Faulkner started the final quarter with a four-point play and the Lady Trojans eventually outscored the Lady Lancers, 11-3, to force the extra session. In OT, everything went right for Triton, putting up 17 points to just two by LV.
“The fact that we scored 17 points in four minutes is crazy,” said Triton head coach Kennedy Krull. “We could have folded in the first quarter, but we showed the heart we’ve been looking for all season. Glad they figured it out.”
After a slow start, Addyson Viers finished with 20 points (8-9 FTS), 19 coming in the second half and OT. King (three 3s) finished with a dozen.
“(King) can hit those shots all day long,” Krull said of the junior. “Last year she had a different
role (post player), but she’s really stepped into her new role as a shooter.”
Faulkner played great
defense at the top of Triton’s zone defense and finished with nine points.
“She showed her full
game,” added Krull. “She’s a menace on defense and hits open shots when she has them.”
Weil (three 3s) led LV in scoring with 11 points and Edison added 10. Triton had a 16-2 advantage from the foul line.
Both teams are back in action Saturday. Triton hosts Knox for another
HNAC contest at 4 p.m. while Laville will welcome South Bend Clay to Dale E. Cox Gymnasium for a 1:30 p.m. tip-off.
• TRITON 49, LAVILLE 34
At Bourbon
LAVILLE: Lily Smith 2 0-0 4, Mackena Deason 2 0-0 5, Ava Weil 4 0-0 11, Brooke Edison 5 0-0 10, Mikalah Kuskye 0 2-4 2, Rylie Aschenbrenner 0 0-0 0, London Kwiatkowski 1 0-0 2, Faith Mejer 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 14 2-4 34. TRITON: Sierra Hawley 1 3-4 5,
Mylie Groves 0 0-0 0, Jocelynn Faulkner 3 1-1 9, Jenna Bules 0 1-4 1, Avery Viers 0 2-2 2, Sydney King 4 1-2 12, Addyson Viers 6 8-9 20. TOTALS: 14 16-22 49. Score by quarters
Laville 8 15 29 32 34
Triton 8 12 21 32 49 3-pointers: Laville 4 (Weil 3, Deason), Triton 5 (King 3, Faulkner 2). Fouls (fouled out): Laville 17 (Kwiatkowski), Triton 9 (none). Records: Laville 2-6 (0-1 HNAC), Triton 3-5 (1-0 HNAC).
JV score: Laville 37, Triton 23