NEW MADISON – The Tri-Village Lady Patriots used suffocating defensive pressure to generate a lot of offense in the first half, racing out to a 44-7 halftime lead against the visiting Ansonia Tigers, then went on to a 79-33 Cross-County Conference win.
In the opening frame the Patriots spread the wealth with six players scoring, and when Lauren Flory scored on a post move inside the Patriots had mounted a 16-0 lead.
Katie Werts finally got the Tigers on the board at the 2:57 mark on free throw, but the Tigers would trail at the end of the first quarter, 20-4.
Tri-Village’s Emma Printz got the hot-hand in the second quarter, rattling off 9 consecutive points, then it was Lissa Siler’s turn as she scored 5 straight. All total the PATS added 24.
Ansonia was held to just 3 points in the second quarter as the Patriots took a 44-7 lead at the break.
“First half we were solid on both ends of the floor,” Tri-Village girls basketball coach Brad Gray said.
“I thought our defense created offense for us. We got some steals for easy layups, and that is when we are at our best. When we’re buying into playing really hard on the defensive end we look better offensively because we are getting easier opportunities, and when you see the ball go through the basket you tend to play with a lot more confidence as the game goes on.”
Veteran Ansonia coach Jim Bolin though is known for having hard-nosed kids who play hard, and the Tigers came out after the break with a lot more energy and purpose.
Ansonia showed some perimeter scoring in the third period with Bailey Stammen and Werts both connecting from beyond the arch. The Tigers scored 11 points in the third quarter, keeping pace with the Patriots’ 15.
Maddie Downing had her game going in the paint in the third quarter with 8 points.
“I was disappointed with our game in third quarter, a huge let-down … but I give credit to them (Ansonia). They came out with a lot more energy than we did, and I’m sure Coach Bolin was getting on them a little bit at the half. His kids responded and played a great third quarter,” Gray said.
In the final stanza Trinity Henderson got it rolling for the Tigers, scoring 8 points, and Kierra Reichert started to find success inside by attacking the basket with 5 points.
Tri-Village got 6 points each from Madison Foreman and Kayla Burke in the fourth quarter and would go on to register a 79-33 win over Ansonia.
“I really thought our second group played a great fourth quarter,” Gray said. “They acted like they wanted to be out there on the floor and was trying to prove a point. That’s what we want from them, and they took advantage of their playing time. It’s always good when they prove they can play and make it tough on me to decide who the first ones should be coming into the game off the bench.”
The Patriots had nine players score, four in double figures. Leading the way was Printz with 16, Trisa Porter and Downing with 12 each and Flory with 10.
The Patriots improve to 8-1 overall and 5-0 in the conference and will be back in action on Saturday when they travel to St. Henry.
Werts led Ansonia with 11 points, Henderson had 8 and Reichert added 7 in the loss.
Ansonia fell to 2-7 overall and 1-4 in the CCC and will have an eight-day layoff before going to Fairlawn on Dec. 30.
“We have a long way to go,” Bolin said. “We have to go in the gym more and practice more. We just got an old-fashioned whipping tonight. We still haven’t found our identity yet, and we have a lot of young kids out there. We’ll get there, just not as fast I would like.”
Box score:
Score by quarters
AN … 04 … 03 … 11 … 15 – 33
TV … 20 … 24 … 15 … 20 – 79
Individual scoring
Ansonia – Stammen 6, Henderson 8, Werts 11, Wentworth 1, Reichert 7
Totals 2-10-7/21 – 33
Tri-Village – Foreman 6, Moore 6, Printz 16, Burke 6, P. Bietry 2, Porter 12, Siler 9, Downing 12, Flory 10 – Totals 3-31-8/8 – 79
