Lady Trojan Hoopers Topped by Raiders
RUSSIA- On Saturday, the Botkins Girls Basketball team was downed 45-33 in a Shelby County Athletic League game at Russia High School.
The Raiders built a 16-5 lead by the end of the first quarter and led 28-17 at halftime. Russia pushed its lead to 35-23 by the end of the third, but the Trojans cut the gap to single digits in the fourth. However, Botkins wasn’t able to pull away following the slow start, handing the home-standing Lady Raiders their sixth straight win.
“Russia did a good job in the first quarter scoring in their sets and we let that first quarter get away from us before we settled into the game,” said Tyler Carson, Botkins Head Coach. “It’s not easy to play from behind but I was proud of our effort. We missed some opportunities on offense that we normally convert that would have affected the outcome,” added Carson. We closed it to within six down the stretch and got hit with an illegal screen on a made three-pointer by Janel (Platfoot) that would have made it a four point game,” noted Carson.
The game was a rematch from December’s 41-27 game in favor of Russia, however, Carson thinks the team has improved since then. “We have improved quite a bit since the first time we played them. Even though we lost, I saw a team that gave everything they had and just came up a little short,” stated Carson. “I feel good about the way we are playing heading into the tournament. We still have two games upcoming to finish off the regular season and tournament draw tomorrow (Sunday).”
Delana Pitts led Botkins with 11 points while Jana Metz (9), Camdyn Paul (7), Janel Platfoot (3), Peyton Platfoot (2), and Maddi Frey (1) followed.
“Everybody has gotten better from the first weekend to now,” Russia Head Coach Michael Bashore said. “We’re playing hard. Today, we were missing a starter (Jaela Shappie), and one of our starters was sick and playing through that. We’ve been doing that all year. Different kids have been stepping up.
There’s a freshman (Celeste Borchers) whose game has just skyrocketed since Christmas.” Borchers led the Raiders with 13 points, nine of which came in the first half. She’s one of two freshmen who started, the other being Hazel Francis, who finished with seven. “We started off a little rough, but the second half of the season, we’ve been playing better together and moving better,” Borchers said. “The upperclassmen are really supportive and really help us along, pick us up when we’re down.” Sophomore Claudia Hoehne added nine points, seven of which were in the second half. Junior guard Addison Shappie added six, as did senior center Roni Poling, who is the team’s leading scorer this season. “Addison and Claudia Hoehne have been playing really well,” Bashore said.
“Faith (York) did a nice job today defensively with Jaela (Shappie) being out. She’s one of our better defenders. And we had to play with Hazel (Francis) being in foul trouble.
“For us to win when Roni doesn’t score, missing a starter, and having another starter sick, really says a lot about the growth of our team,” said Bashore. “We’re playing well. I think we’ll be around for a while (in the tournament) as long as we’re playing as we’ve been playing. I’m looking forward to it, and I think the girls are too.
With the loss, Botkins dropped to 9-11 overall and 4-7 in league play, which broke a
four-game winning streak. They will look to bounce back when they host Anna (11-9, 7-4 in SCAL) on Thursday in a SCAL re-match game.
The Lady Trojans were able to pull a 36-32 victory over the Rockets earlier in the year. Before beginning postseason play, Russia (12-8, 8-3 in SCAL) will wrap up the regular-season with one more tough non-conference matchup when they travel to Marion Local (13-6) on Tuesday. The squad will then host the Redskins of Fort Loramie (18-2, 11-0 in SCAL) on Thursday in a regular-season finale.