Tolson Eclipses Capeder’s Record, Trenton Girls Roll Gallatin

Ainsley Tolson has never been one to put herself at the forefront of anything. She has consistently shrugged off things like scoring over 1,000 points in her career and all-state honors time and time again, chalking it all up as a by-product of playing with a tremendous group of teammates and friends.
But with a career like Tolson’s, and in a town the size of Trenton, it’s hard to avoid seeing such milestones coming. Milestones like closing in on Trenton’s all-time scoring record are things Tolson can’t avoid.
In a 57-20 victory over Grand River Conference foe Gallatin on Tuesday night, Tolson scored 17 points, putting her past Rebekah Capeder as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 1,391 career points.
“I was about ready for that to be over,” Tolson laughed. “(Assistant Coach John) Cowling kept me updated, so I kind of knew.”
But the agony of the spotlight almost lingered for another full game. Tolson scored just four points in the opening quarter. A three-pointer in the final seconds of the first half gave her seven at the break.
When her shot wasn’t falling early, however, Tolson did what she often does in such situations – look for her teammates. She set her teammates up for some easy buckets and ended the game with a team-high six assists.
The three at the end of the first half seemed to be the cure for her shooting as well as the Trenton point guard scored in a flurry in the third quarter. A pair of layups on fast breaks got her close and back-to-back three-pointers afterward made Tolson Trenton’s most prolific scorer of all time.
“(Tolson’s) night didn’t really start off all that great, but in typical Ainsley fashion she just started finding teammates more,” Trenton Head Coach Brian Upton said. “She made some tremendous passes tonight. She wasn’t real accurate early on, but she got locked in a little bit later and, as normal, she kind of elevates everyone else’s play through her play. She has got a knack for getting everyone involved and she keeps everybody fired up to play. She would be the perfect definition of what a leader is.”
Like Tolson, Capeder was a four-year starter for Trenton. She broke then-recordholder Lora Gooch’s record of 1,301 during her senior season and finished her career with the Black and Gold, scoring 1,390 points. While Tolson broke her record from a guard position, Capeder was a dominating forward who, in addition to setting the school scoring record, set and still holds the all-time rebounds record at Trenton High School with 1,203 for her career.
“First I want to say congrats to a fellow Lady Bulldog for breaking my record,” Capeder said. “I remember starting my freshman year of basketball with a goal of being number one and was able to make that possible. Records are meant to be broken and I know that (Tolson) put in a lot of hard work to beat it. Best of luck this season to the Lady Bulldogs. Always stay humble, but always stay hungry and you will be successful.”
Tolson finished the night seven-for-12 from the field, including a three-for-five showing from beyond the arc. A change in her approach at halftime allowed her to chase down the record in the third quarter.
“I wasn’t for sure through the first half if I was going to get it or not,” Tolson said. “I wasn’t having a great shooting night, but it ended up happening. On nights when I’m not shooting well I try to go to the hole more often. That was kind of my goal coming out of halftime – to go to the hole more and be more aggressive toward the basket. I hit two threes during the second half, so it ended up working out alright.”
Tolson’s record-setting night came just one day after she signed a national letter of intent to join the William Jewell College women’s basketball program. Only two days in, the week is already an unforgettable one for Tolson
“It’s been a blessing,” Tolson said. “It’s been really awesome. My community has been really supportive of everything, really happy for me and encouraging. All glory to God. I’m super blessed with amazing teammates, coaches and family.”
The game itself came secondary to Tolson breaking the scoring record as Trenton routed yet another conference opponent. Gallatin attempted to run some clock early and held a 5-4 lead at one point, but back-to-back three-pointers by Mykah Hurley gave Trenton a lead it would not surrender. The Bulldogs pushed the lead to 18-7 by the end of the first quarter and held a 36-12 lead at halftime.
In the second half, Trenton continued to impose its will over the visitors and after Tolson’s scoring flurry in the third, Trenton held a 51-20 lead going into the final frame. Tolson didn’t attempt another shot after breaking Capeder’s mark with 2:46 left in the third. She spent most of the remainder of the contest on the bench with her fellow seniors as Trenton’s underclassmen took the game home for the 37-point victory.
“Gallatin did a nice job early of trying to slow the pace down,” Upton said. “That first possession they had lasted probably about a minute, but we played good defense. We defended very well and that’s what we do. People like to talk about how prolific we are on offense, but we’re pretty good on defense, too.”
Behind Tolson, Mykah Hurley scored 12 points and had a team-high eight steals and four assists. Hurley will be the next Trenton player to set an all-time school mark. Her eight steals give her 290 for her career, just 22 shy of Amber Vandevender’s career record of 312.
Maci Moore finished with 12 points as well and had five rebounds and four steals. Lexi Whitaker went for eight points and six rebounds and Salem Croy had five points. Sidney Lynch rounded out the Trenton total with three points and grabbed five rebounds.
Trenton improved to 9-0 on the season with the win and 3-0 within Grand River Conference play. The Bulldogs will be across town at the Ketcham Community Center on Saturday, taking on St. Joseph Lafayette at North Central Missouri College’s Holiday Hoops. Tip off between the Bulldogs and Irish is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.