by ROCKY RIVER, OH – It was a hard-fought contest on Saturday afternoon between the Lady Trojans and Lady Longhorns that saw the Trojans coming out on top. Iniya Charlton led the way for Trinity in the contest by dropping 22 big points. A team defensive effort was a key part of the win for the Trojans as well.
Early in the game, Lutheran West got out to a 9-4 lead. Then, Trinity came at them with intense defensive pressure. For the remainder of the opening period, the Trojans’ defense forced turnovers that led to fastbreak opportunities. The Trojans closed the quarter on a 14-3 scoring run. Nilah Thornton led the in scoring with 8 points in the opening frame.
Trinity’s defense remained tough throughout the 2nd quarter. It was difficult for the Longhorns to get any easy baskets. A balanced scoring attack on offense paved the way for the Trojans. Heading into the break, Trinity had grown their lead to double digits and held a 31-20 advantage.
It looked like Trinity was going to run away with the game early in the 2nd half as they started the 3rd on a 9-0 scoring run. This run put them up 40-20. However, the Lady Longhorns were not defeated yet. Lutheran West stepped up their tempo and homed in on the defensive end. The Lady Longhorns closed the 3rd quarter on a 16-6 scoring run. Maddie Kandrach shined in the quarter by dropping 8 points to lead Lutheran West. Entering the final period, the Trojans still led 46-36.
Lutheran West carried their momentum straight in the 4th quarter by extending their scoring run to 21-6. They had trimmed the Trojan lead to just 5 early in the quarter. Despite their comeback efforts, the Longhorns could not stay out of foul trouble and sent the Trojans to line for 8 free throw attempts. Cashing in on their free throw opportunities and their stifling defense, Trinity was able to hold off Lutheran West. The Lady Trojans came out on top of the Lady Longhorns by a final score of 63-54.
With the loss, Lutheran West falls to 7-8 on the year and 4-4 in the CVC. Trinity advanced to 10-5 on the year to go along with an impressive 8-1 record in the CVC.
Key Players
Trinity
Iniya Charlton: 22 points
Nilah Thornton: 19 points
Jaila Wiggins: 9 points
Lutheran West
Maddie Kandrach: 12 points
Ava Adya 11 points, 3 3-pointers
Aliciana Medina: 11 points
PLAYER OF THE GAME: INIYA CHARLTON
Top tier analysis as always