THE QUEEN’S COURT

Richman Scores 1,000th Point, Wins Courtwarming Queen On Same Night
It was courtwarming, it was a Grand River Conference game and it was a scoring spree for the Trenton High School girls’ basketball team. There was a lot going on.
But this night belonged to Whitley Richman, who overshadowed everything else on a night the Bulldogs defeated Maysville 66-21.
Richman recorded her 1,000th career point during a 26-0 run to open the game and went on to score 17, pacing Trenton in the lopsided victory. After the game, Richman was also crowned courtwarming queen – icing on the cake for what was already a night she would never forget.
“It was my second year coaching (at Trenton) when Whitley was a freshman and you could tell she was going to be something special,” Trenton Head Coach Brian Upton said. “It is a great honor to score 1,000 points – it just means you have been really steady over four years and contributed a lot. By the time her career is done, she is going to probably be top five in all of the major statistical categories that we keep.”
During the break after the first quarter, Richman was presented a basketball marking her achievement. After receiving hugs and congratulations from her coaches and teammates, she ventured into the stands for a special moment with her parents before returning to the court for the second quarter. As special as the night was for Richman, who also tallied eight rebounds, five assists and five steals in the win, she deflected much of the attention to her teammates.
“I think what I will remember most (from this night) is my teammates and the team that I am on,” Richman said. “I will remember the crowd and how they supported me and my parents.”
As for the game itself, it wasn’t much of a game at all. Trenton rolled over Maysville, outscoring the Wolverines 31-3 in the opening quarter alone, cruising to the third conference win of the year. The night began with two quarters of junior varsity action, limiting Trenton’s bench use in the first half. The Bulldogs led 46-10 at halftime before being able to fully turn the game over to the second-teamers in the second half. Trenton would go on to take the contest by a 45-point margin.
Behind Richman, Trenton got 15 points and four steals from Ainsley Tolson and 11 points, five steals and five assists from Mykah Hurley. Saedee Jackson had five points and six rebounds and McKayla Blackburn, Ashten Whitaker, Sidney Lynch and Salem Croy all had four points each. Taylor Richman scored two points and had six rebounds to round out the Trenton effort.
Despite coming against the last-place team in the GRC standings, the game represented exactly what Trenton has been trying to do within the league – dominate.
“We want to make sure that we are the conference bully this year,” Richman said. “That is what other teams are saying anyway so we want to uphold that reputation.”
Trenton now sits at 3-0 in the GRC’s East Division, alone at the top of the standings. Gallatin, South Harrison and Putnam County are all tied for second for the time being at 2-1. Trenton has yet to play South Harrison or Putnam County and hold a win over Gallatin in the conference match-up – which was played in Trenton.
“Every conference game is a big game and you double it if it is a home game,” Upton said. “When I started coaching here I wanted our home to be intimidating for other teams coming in. I thought we came out and – really for a quarter, quarter and a half until it got out of control – played good basketball.”
In addition to going to 3-0 in the GRC, Trenton pushed its overall record to 9-2 on the season.
The Trenton girls will be back in action on Tuesday, opening play in the Lawson Tournament. Trenton, seeded first, takes on eighth-seeded Carrollton on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.
Junior Varsity
Trenton dominated the two quarters of junior varsity play with Maysville, outscoring the Wolverines’ second unit 9-4 in the first and 9-0 in the second for an 18-4 win.
Blackburn led Trenton with six points, Jackson had four and Haley Kidd, Lexi Whitaker, Kennedy Norton and Maci Henson all had two points each.
With the win, the JV girls improved to 6-0 overall on the season. Trenton will be in a girls’-boys’ junior varsity doubleheader with Hamilton on Thursday at home. Action in Trenton tips off at 6 p.m.