The Trenton High School girls’ basketball team pulled off a big upset on Tuesday night at the Class 3, District 15 Tournament, knocking off fourth-seeded Richmond on their home court as the five seed. Richmond entered the game at 20-4 on the season, but the Lady Bulldogs were able to put the Lady Spartans away with a 44-33 victory.
Trenton was able to lull Richmond into their style of play, creating a slow-paced defensive contest. The teams were tied at 8-8 after the first quarter and Trenton pulled ahead slightly in the second quarter, leading 14-13 at halftime. In the third quarter Trenton pushed the advantage to four points and then outscored the MRVC-East champions 20-13 over the final eight minutes to pull away for the district victory.
“That was a great win,” Lady Bulldogs’ Head Coach Brian Upton said. “Richmond was 20-4 on the season and we beat them on their home court. We were steady throughout the game. We did a great job of handling their pressure defense and getting good shots.”
Trenton had 14 assists on their 17 baskets in the game and shot eight-of-11 from the free throw stripe, including eight-for-nine in the fourth quarter.
Whitley Richman once again powered the Trenton offense, collecting 19 points to go with nine rebounds.
“Whitley was super again,” Upton said. “She really had to work hard because they doubled her most of the night.”
Ashten Whitaker followed Richman with eight points and six rebounds. Lexie Tolson added seven points, five rebounds and three assists and Tenna Roberts had four points. Trenton also got two points, four rebounds and four assists from Jaylen Neff and two points and four steals from Ally Ockenfels. Daryian Otto had two points as well to round out the Trenton total.
“Lexie did a great job of handling their pressure and hitting big free throws in the fourth quarter, going five-for-six,” Upton said. “She only had one turnover the whole game and she handled the ball a lot. Tenna and Ashten were really good coming off the bench. I couldn’t be happier or more proud of this group. They have worked really hard and deserved this upset victory. We truely played like a team tonight, offensively, but especially defensively. We rebounded well and took care of the basketball. Generally, that is a good recipe for success.”
With the win, the Lady Bulldogs improved to 12-13 on the season. The win also avenged a 24-23 loss the Lady Bulldogs suffered against Richmond in the consolation game of the Lawson Tournament.
With the win, Trenton advances to the semifinals of the district tournament. The Lady Bulldogs will take on top-seeded Chillicothe on Thursday at 6 p.m. in Richmond.
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