Trenton Girls Leave No Doubt With 49-31 Victory

On the surface, losing to Stanberry one week after clinching the Grand River Conference championship over that same team a year ago didn’t mean much to the Trenton High School girls basketball team.
Watching Trenton on Friday night in their second game in Stanberry in as many weeks, it probably meant a little more than the Bulldogs let on.
Trenton played like a team determined on denying Stanberry a similar measure of revenge this year. The Bulldogs backed up last week’s conference championship clinching win with a 49-31 victory over Stanberry in a non-conference game.
“I was very pleased with how we played in the rematch compared to how we played in this same game last year,” Trenton Head Coach Brian Upton said. “We were very focused, mentally tough and ready to play.”
After defeating Stanberry by nine points in last week’s championship game, Trenton left nothing to chance in the second meeting, putting Stanberry away with a convincing 18-point margin. Trenton’s defense was even better than it was a week ago when it limited Stanberry to 37 points, holding the home team to 31 points on Friday.
“Our defense and rebounding were outstanding,” Upton said. “We gave up very few open looks and out-rebounded – again – a taller, physical team. We had four players with five-plus rebounds and another with four. Everyone was working hard on the glass.”
Stanberry was held to just single digits in each of the first three quarters as the Bulldogs built a 33-21 lead entering the final frame. The home school finally scored in double digits in the fourth quarter, putting up 10 points, but that wasn’t near enough with Trenton scoring 16 of their own, 12 coming from a perfect 12-for-12 showing at the free throw line in the final frame – a noticeable improvement from last week when Trenton shot just 50 percent from the free throw line while trying to put the game away in the fourth quarter.
Ainsley Tolson led Trenton’s offense with 22 points, scoring 10 in the fourth quarter, including six coming at the stripe. She also had five rebounds and four steals. Maci Moore added 10 points, nine rebounds and two steals and Salem Croy had seven points, six rebounds and two assists. Trenton would get five points, five rebounds and five steals from Mykah Hurley and three points and four rebounds from Sidney Lynch. Ashten Whitaker rounded out the team’s total with two points.
The win vaulted Trenton to 22-1 overall on the season and served as a notice that, unlike last year, there is no doubt as to what team is the class of the GRC. The victory also gave the Bulldogs continued momentum as the regular season reaches its final week.
“I love the competitiveness in this team,” Upton said. “This could have been a letdown game, but they brought their focus and intensity. This is an easy team to root for and I am extremely proud of how hard they work and prepare.”
UP NEXT
Trenton closes out regular season play this week, traveling to Cameron on Tuesday and hosting Hamilton on Thursday. Both games are scheduled for 6 p.m. tip offs.
The Trenton girls earned the one seed at the Class 3, District 16 Tournament for the second year in a row. Trenton will tip off postseason play against eighth-seeded South Harrison on Monday, Feb. 19 at 6 p.m.