The Trenton High School girls basketball team was not perfect on Tuesday night in their home Grand River Conference match-up with Gallatin.
Far from it in fact.
But, for a 12-minute stretch in the first half, the Bulldogs were really, really good.
That stretch, in which Trenton embarked on a 19-2 run, proved to be the difference as Trenton outlasted Gallatin for a 39-29 victory that put Trenton alone at the top of the GRC standings.
After falling behind 5-0 right off the bat, Trenton responded in a big way, bridging the first and second quarters with their 19-2 run. Trenton mixed in some pressure defense that led to transition points and got hot from the outside, connecting on three shots from beyond the arc, all by different players.
“These girls, first and foremost, are really good basketball players,” Trenton Head Coach Brian Upton said. “(Gallatin) got up 5-0 and there really wasn’t any panic. We did what we do most times when things aren’t going our way – we rely on our defense. These girls have a knack for making good plays.”
Outside of the 12-minute stretch where Trenton could do no wrong, however, Trenton did plenty to assure this contest would not be a runaway. In addition to letting Gallatin get out to a 5-0 lead to open the game, Trenton failed to close the deal following their run as Gallatin roared back in the waning moments of the opening half. Gallatin outscored Trenton 7-2, cutting the lead to seven points entering the locker room at halftime.
In the second half, Trenton couldn’t find the stride that had been so instrumental in the first half run. Gallatin would not go away despite Trenton being able to keep the visitors at arm’s length. The lead ranged from seven to 11 points throughout the remainder of the game, which concluded with Trenton in front by 10 points.
“Other than that 10- or 12-minute window, we didn’t string too many good moments together,” Upton said. “Gallatin is a tough team to play, though, because they are long and athletic. They switch defenses about every time down the court between man and 2-1-2, so we are trying to run different sets and we never could get in sync. It wasn’t pretty but a win is a win and I am happy that we grinded out a win when we didn’t play very well. That was a pretty quality team.”
The win was a big one for the THS squad as it moved Trenton to 2-0 within the Grand River Conference, making the Lady Bulldogs the only undefeated squad in the league. Maysville sits at 0-2 in the league and all of the other six schools are sitting at 1-1 after two conference games. Gallatin figured to represent one of if not the toughest test for Trenton in the league as well. The Red and Black Bulldogs are an impressive 6-2 on the season overall, their only two losses coming at the hands of Trenton, which also defeated Gallatin in the Gallatin Tournament championship game by a score of 49-33 at the beginning of the month.
Leading the way in this victory were Whitley Richman and Mykah Hurley, both of whom had 10 points, and Ainsley Tolson, who finished with nine. Richman added 12 rebounds, giving her a double-double on the night and picked up three steals. Hurley had two steals and Tolson tallied eight steals and two assists.
Trenton also got four points and four rebounds from Salem Croy and four points and two assists from Sidney Lynch. Taylor Richman rounded out Trenton’s total with two points and Ashten Whitaker had a team-high three assists.
The win moved Trenton to 8-1 overall on the season. The Bulldogs will be in action at North Central Missouri College’s Holiday Hoops on Wednesday, Dec. 28, taking on Smithville. Tip off between the Bulldogs and Warriors is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Ketcham Community Center in Trenton.