MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — There wasn’t much for Trinity girls’ basketball coach Mike Baldy to be upset about during Saturday night’s Class AA Region II, Section 2 championship against Braxton County … except the end of the first half.
“That was a terrible end to the half,” he quipped as he grabbed his clipboard and led his team into the locker room at TCS.
Taking nine minutes of the 10 designated for halftime to coach up his team, the Warriors responded in a huge way.
After giving up 16 points in the second quarter, the Warriors did not allow a single basket in the second half, holding the Eagles to just five points on five free throws.
The poor defensive second quarter was preceded by another dominant frame in the first quarter where Trinity allowed just two points on a lay-in under the basket. Overall, the Warriors allowed six baskets the entire game — five in the second quarter — in a 69-23 win.
“We’re pretty happy with how the defense played tonight,” Baldy said. “The defense hasn’t been as good this year as it has been in year’s past. It’s kind of been our trademark — a low-scoring team but with good defense. This year, it’s been totally the opposite — we have so many really good scorers and the defense has struggled, so to see the defense be highlighted is certainly a bright thing to carry into regionals.”
The Warriors (8-5) will host Frankfort at 7 p.m. Thursday for the regional championship and a shot at the state tournament on the line. Trinity’s first round matchup with Notre Dame was forfeited in TCS’s favor due to COVID-19 issues at ND.
While Baldy hopes the defense can keep up the pace, he feels the same for his offense, which didn’t have any hiccups against Braxton County (3-7). The Warriors were consistent throughout, led by senior Jaclyn Smith’s 15 points, while three others scored in double figures — Maggie Mercure (13), Ruby Smith (11) and Paige Smith.
Paige, Jaclyn’s younger sister, also finished with a double-double after snagging 10 rebounds.
Total, Baldy was able to check in his entire team, allowing 13 players to get minutes in a postseason game.
“It’s been a long season so you want to get them all playing time,” he said. “Not everyone is at the same level right now skill-wise, and that’s fine, but everyone is at the same level heart-wise right now. Everyone is practicing with heart — showing up to practice, showing up to games with a ton of heart.
“It’s important that we got everyone in tonight, and they all played well. The girls at the end kept the same pace as the girls who played at the beginning.”
BRAXTON COUNTY (3-7)
Duffield 0 2-2 2; Smarr 1 0-0 2; Payne 1 0-0 3; Hunt 3 0-0 7; Garavaglia 2 1-2 5; Godfrey 0 0-0 0; Peters 0 2-3 2; Conlet 0 0-2 0; Abraham 0 0-0 0; Luncefield 0 0-1 0. Totals: 6 5-9 23.
TRINITY (8-5)
Kisner 1 0-0 3; P. Smith 5 0-0 10; J. Smith 5 4-4 15; Mercure 4 3-4 13; Barnett 2 0-2 4; R. Smith 5 1-2 11; Austin 1 0-0 2; Brown 0 4-4 4; Pancoast 1 0-0 2; Lynch 1 0-0 2; Wimer 1 0-0 2; Hyde 0 0-0 0; Burrell. Totals: 26 12-16 69.
BCHS 2 16 1 4 – 23
TCS 17 16 19 17 – 69
3-pointers: BCHS 2 (Payne, Hunt); TCS 4 (J. Smith; Mercure 2; Kisner).
TWEET @SeanManning_1
