Bulldogs Prove They Belong In Final Four

The Trenton High School girls’ basketball team didn’t need to prove it belonged at the Class 3 Show-Me Showdown in Columbia on Thursday afternoon.
But, they did so anyway.
Even though the end result was a 53-41 loss, Trenton showed they belonged with the state’s elite, pushing a strong Whitfield team to the limit before falling to a Class 3 team for the first time all year.
“There were several times in that game where the score could have gotten away from us,” Trenton Head Coach Brian Upton said. “I think it just kind of shows a little bit of the resiliency of this team that they didn’t let it get out of hand.”
Whitfield landed a haymaker right off the bat, establishing a 9-1 lead in the early minutes of the state semifinal match-up. But Ashten Whitaker hit a three-pointer, then another and then another. The trio of triples by the junior guard pulled Trenton back into the game and after one quarter of play, Trenton trailed just 14-12.
“We talk about when you get the open shot, take it,” Whitaker said. “Coach Upton says all the time that we have the green light and that gives us confidence. Salem (Croy) told me if I got an open shot to take it because last year she wished she would have taken more three’s. So I said, okay I will take those shots. Just to have a team behind you that believes in you helps a lot. That just boosted our team and myself.”
Trenton would tie the game at 14-14 and at the 3:41 mark in the second quarter, took its first lead of the game at 18-17. Whitfield responded, however, closing the half on an 11-4 run to carry a 28-22 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Trenton closed to within three points after Whitaker’s fourth three of the game early in the third quarter but would never be closer as Whitfield would push the advantage to 11 points multiple times in the fourth quarter. Trenton continuously reeled in the Warriors, but the Bulldogs were forced to foul late, allowing Whitfield to push the advantage to 12 points by the game’s end.
The loss came in spite of another double-double performance from Whitley Richman, who continued to raise her game as the stage got bigger. Richman had 15 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and a steal to pace the Bulldogs.
“I think I don’t let pressure get to me,” Richman said of her big-game feats. “I just go out and I play basketball. That’s what I try to do anyway.
“For me this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. This is my last year and it has been so fun so far and we still get two more days together.”
Behind Richman, Trenton got 12 points and two steals from Whitaker and eight points and a steal from Ainsley Tolson, who fouled out on an illegal screen call with over five minutes left in the game. Mykah Hurley had four points, three steals and two assists for the Bulldogs and Sidney Lynch added two points, four rebounds and two assists to round out the team’s total.
For Whitfield, 6-0 sophomore Aijha Blackwell was an unstoppable force finishing with 21 points, 13 rebounds, two steals and two assists.
Though the sting of the loss was ever present for the Bulldogs after the game, Upton wasn’t letting it take away from the experience of the first final four appearance in school history.
“This experience has been awesome,” Upton said. “It’s been great, we have got to enjoy lots of things. I said last week after the quarterfinal win that the best part is that we get another week together as a team. The girls have really enjoyed each other and themselves, but they know we are down here to play basketball. They want to be focused and they want to do the best they can and it is kind of hard sometimes to balance between enjoying the moment and putting an emphasis on playing well. But I think, so far, we have done well. We played well with a team that is very good. You don’t get down here without being very good and I look forward to the next couple of days with these girls.”
Trenton (27-4) will face Lutheran North, who fell 80-47 to undefeated Strafford, in the state third-place game today. Tipoff between the Bulldogs and Crusaders is set for 4:15 at Mizzou Arena in Columbia.