MORGANTOWN — Jenna Barnett set a career-high with 22 points on 8 of 12 shooting from the floor as she led Trinity Christian (15-6) to victory over Grafton (2-19) 61-29 on Tuesday night.
The Warriors set the pace early on, punishing the Bearcats on defense with an extended half court zone that caused their opponents to turn the ball over. This allowed for quick offense as TCS blew open the lead 15-2 midway through the quarter. Kyndel Kisner had already hit two from deep for her team and Barnett had five points as well.
GHS struggled against the zone of Trinity, particular getting open looks at the basket. Despite moving the ball decently, the Warriors cut the passing lanes and stole the ball often. Five different players registered points for coach Mike Baldy’s squad as they led 24-5 after one.
The rest of the game was a different story for TCS, as it opened the second in a slight slump. Both teams turned the ball over on their first few possessions. GHS only registered four points for the entire quarter, but held the Warriors to just 13 of their own. A comfortable lead at 37-9 would favor TCS at the break.
To begin the third, GHS went ice cold. The Warriors scored the first eight points of the quarter and GHS didn’t even score until more than halfway through the quarter. However, Kambree Delaney found her stride and after a few stops on defense, helped her team score 11 points in the final 2:30, only being outscored by three in the third.
With both teams being a little fatigued, the fourth brought some sloppy offense for both teams. The Bearcats only allowed 10 points in the final quarter to 9 scored themselves. Despite the halftime deficit, the second half alone was close in score.
This is the fifth game in six days for TCS, having to make up some games that were postponed earlier in the season. The Warriors will conclude the regular season on Saturday against Clay-Battelle, then will host their first sectional game Feb. 22 against Notre Dame.
Fatigue is definitely a factor for the Warriors, but Baldy is emphasizing his team staying together as a unit.
“My main thing is attitude and fundamentals, it gets frustrating when the same fundamentals are going wrong,” Baldy said. “I’m trying to remember that this team hasn’t practiced since Wednesday last week and that we’ve won all five games we’ve played (in six days) and I am proud of them for that. We want a little more selflessness and a little less selfishness. I want everyone to have a good attitude even if they aren’t having the best night.”
Grafton (2-19)
Kambree Delaney 15 0-0 14 Alyssa Saterfield 15 2-2 6 Jodi Keene 10 3-6 3 Izzy Swiger 4 0-0 2 Amber Smith 4 0-0 2 Lillie Crimm 1 0-0 2
Trinity Christian (15-6)
Jenna Barnett 12 3-3 22 Kyndel Kisner 9 0-0 9 Avonna Brown 4 5-6 9 SuCora Brown 7 0-0 8 Olivia Austin 2 0-0 4 Ella Lynch 5 0-0 3 Katrina Hyde 5 0-0 3 Maggie Mercure 5 0-0 2 Abigail Fisher 2 1-2 1
TRINITY 24 13 14 10 – 61
GRAFTON 5 4 11 9 – 29
Three-pointers: Trinity 8 (Barnett 3, Kisner 3, Lynch 1, Hyde 1); Grafton 2 (Delaney 2)
