FOURTH QUARTER’S FINEST

THS Girls Run Up 24 Points In Final Frame, Boys Fall By 10

The Trenton High School basketball teams were at home on Thursday night, playing host to Stanberry. The Lady Bulldogs were able to snap a six-game losing streak with a 51-36 win. The Trenton boys were not as lucky, coming up 10 points short in a 64-54 loss to Stanberry, ranked fifth in the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association’s Class 1 Poll.
Lady Bulldogs
For the Trenton girls, the game would come down to the fourth quarter. Fortunately, the Lady Bulldogs saved their best for last. Trenton reeled off 24 points, nearly doubling their total for the previous three quarters in a single frame, and pulling away down the stretch for the 15-point victory.
“It was nice to get a W,” Lady Bulldogs’ Head Coach Brian Upton said. “We struggled through the first half and the first half of the third quarter. About halfway through three we pressed and forced several turnovers that led to easy baskets or getting fouled. I was proud of how the girls pushed through playing lackluster basketball to the point when they turned it around.”
Trenton’s offense worked slowly early on, but a solid defensive effort kept Trenton in the game. The Lady Bulldogs led 7-5 after a quarter of play and trailed just 17-15 at halftime. The late run in the third quarter pushed Trenton back to the lead and the Lady Bulldogs held a 27-26 lead into the final frame. The game would never be that close again as Trenton exploded offensively, racking up the 24 points to turn a tight contest into a blowout.
The Lady Bulldogs were paced by Whitley Richman, who had 18 points, six rebounds and six steals. Lexie Tolson added 15 points and Daryian Otto had six. Ashten Whitaker had six points as well and filled out the stat sheet with five rebounds, four steals and four assists. Trenton also got four points from Lana Raymo and one each from Tenna Roberts and Ally Ockenfels to round out the team’s total.
“Lexie played an excellent game,” Upton said. “She really stepped up in the fourth quarter, scoring 11 of her 15 points, including an 8-for-9 performance at the free-throw line. Whitley stuffed the stats page, leading us in almost every category. Tenna, Ashten and Lana did a nice job up front on our press and forced Stanberry into multiple turnovers. We still have plenty of things to work on to become the team we can be, but winning a game was definitely a step in the right direction.”
With the win, Trenton improved to 9-11 on the season.
Bulldogs
For the Trenton boys, things looked bleak early, but a run in the second half kept the Bulldogs in the game. Trenton trailed 15-8 after the first quarter and 31-15 at halftime. The Bulldogs would outscore the visitors 18-12 in the third quarter, but the comeback was denied in the final frame as both squads put up a game-high 21 points.
Trenton was led by Kail McCarter, who had 15 points and Spencer Harris and Colton Neff each added 13. Harris also had seven rebounds and two assists and Neff had four rebounds and three assists. Cree Mullenix finished with seven points, two assists and two steals and Brice Dillon had three points and three assists. Chris Flowers had two points and Cade Mullenix rounded out the team’s total with one point, eight rebounds and two assists.
“We struggled early to put points on the board,” Bulldogs’ Head Coach Jeremy Austin said. “We had a few great looks close, but just couldn’t get it done. (Stanberry’s) press caused us headaches early and they got some easy looks at the rim.
“Kail played hard and got a lot of good plays as a result. I think Colton and Spencer both had big games for us off the bench.”
The Bulldogs fell to 9-12 on the season with the loss.
Both Trenton teams travel to Marceline next Thursday for action. The girls’ game tips off at 6 p.m. with the boys’ contest set to follow.