Trojans split day two of Tourney
Published 3:00 am Thursday, December 29, 2016
The Charles Henderson Lady Trojans split day two of the Ballin Prep Tournament in Birmingham on Wednesday by defeating Huffman 51-36 and falling to Easton of Louisiana 55-54 in overtime.
The overtime loss to Easton marks the second time in this tournament that the Trojans dropped a game in overtime.
“I think we need to work on fundamentals,” said assistant coach Rachel Taylor. “We preach that all the time to them. The most important things are defense and fundamentals. That is one thing that we have to work on moving forward.”
The Trojans outscored the Vikings in every quarter but the fourth on Wednesday, taking a 23-17 lead into the half. In the third quarter the Trojans put the game out of reach by outscoring the Vikings 19-8 to give them the comfortable lead.
“We got some easy baskets,” Taylor said. “Tatyana Siler got some easy baskets for us. She scored 11 points for us in the third quarter. She was running and was able to get some easy layups.”
Siler and Davenport led all Trojans with 18 points on the night while Niaira Jones finished with 17.
For the second time in three games, the Trojans dropped a game in overtime. On Wednesday night it was against Easton.
The Trojans fell behind early in the contest 27-19 at the half. The Trojans were able to cut into the lead in the second half thanks to change in the defensive game plan.
“We tightened up defensively,” Taylor said. “We put Siler on their post player, who was coming out and making three pointers. We were able to tighten our defense around her.”
The Trojans were able to make crucial shots down the stretch including one by Davenport to force the game into the extra session.
“We were able to make some big shots,” Taylor said. “We were able to make defensive stops and get back into the game.”
Siler once again led the Trojans in scoring when she gathered up 20 points while Jones also finished in double figures with 17 points. Davenport finished with nine.
The Trojans continue play in the tournament this evening when they take on Carver of Georgia beginning at 5 p.m. in Birmingham.