MORGANTOWN — The first quarter went really well for the Trinity Christian girls’ basketball team against Grafton Saturday night. Everything after that, however, not so much.
The Warriors (2-2) led 14-7 over the Bearcats after the first frame at the Vision Homes Invitational, but Grafton outscored its host 44-12 over the second and third quarters.
“What we try to do as a team is be cohesive and have maximum effort and we’re losing that when things don’t go our way,” Trinity coach Mike Baldy said. “We stopped scoring and we stopped playing good on defense.”
Grafton’s Hadley Horne took over the game in the middle quarters, scoring 26 of her game-high 39 points in the second and third quarters. Horne made five field goals in the third quarter while the Warriors made none.
“It’s good to be a team of runs, but we want to be a good team all the time,” Baldy said. “When you’re not making shots, it’s hard to run the floor, it’s hard to rim run for second-chance points, but going to the state tournament is hard too, and that’s our goal.”
Horne was supported by Kenna Kenner’s 15 points.
Jenna Barnett led Trinity with 21 points, 12 of which came in the fourth quarter, when the Warriors poured in 23 points.
Ella Lynch added 10 points for the Warriors.
Trinity stays at home to host Magnolia on Wednesday.
Grafton 63, Trinity Christian 49
GRA 7 23 21 12 — 63
TCS 14 6 6 23 — 49
GRAFTON — H. Horne 15 4-5 39; Massie 1 0-0 2; Keener 6 3-6 15; Delaney 0 0-0 0; E. Johnson 0 0-0 0; Crimm 0 1-2 1; R. Horne 0 0-0 0; M. Johnson 0 0-0 0; Satterfield 1 0-0 2; Fryen 0 0-0 0; Cain 0 0-0 0; Ray 1 0-0 2; Boylen 1 0-0 2; Keene 0 0-0 0.
TRINITY (2-2) — Barnett 6 7-11 21; Lynch 4 0-0 10; Moore 1 6-6 9; Conn 0 0-0 0; Kurilko 1 0-0 2; Deal 0 0-0 0; Fisher 0 2-2 2; Blake 1 0-0 2; Flecker 1 1-2 3; Dinkel 0 0-0 0; Lohmann 0 0-0 0; Stinoski 0 0-0 0.
3-Pt. Goals — Graftno 5 (H. Horne 5). Trinity 5 (Barnett 2, Lynch 2, Moore 1).
Preston 56, Riverside 47
KINGWOOD — The Knights continued a strong start to the season with a 56-47 win over Riverside Saturday afternoon in their home-opener.
Preston (3-1) jumped out to a double-digit lead in the second quarter, but foul trouble allowed Riverside (0-1) to come back and take a one-point lead. Preston retook control after halftime, but the Warriors trailed by just four points with three minutes to play.
With three players fouled out and several girls playing out of position, the Knights were able to stretch their lead back out to nine points and hang on for the victory.
Ella White once again led Preston in scoring with 22 points. Kendra Nazelrod offered top support with 12 while Bella Miller added nine. Ava Bishop finished with seven points and 11 rebounds.
Laila Campbell led Riverside with 18 points.
Preston travels to play Elkins on Tuesday.
Preston 56, Riverside 47
RIV 14 12 10 11 — 47
PHS 18 7 19 12 — 56
RIVERSIDE (0-1) — Bave 1 0-2 2. Hall 1 0-0 2. Banks 0 2-3 2. Campbell 4 6-8 18. Roop 3 2-2 9. Hamm 0 0-0 0. Ward 2 1-4 5. Johnson 0 0-0 0. Starsick 1 7-14 9. Groom 0 0-2 0. Cooper 0 0-0 0.
PRESTON (3-1) — Simmons 0 0-0 0. Metheny 0 0-0 0. Wilson 1 0-2 2. Wimer 0 0-0 0. Miller 3 1-3 9. Wolfe 0 0-2 0. White 5 9-15 22. Nazelrod 4 4-6 12. Sypolt 0 0-0 0. Bishop 3 1-7 7. Zuchowski 2 1-2 6.
3-Pt. Goals — Riverside 5 (Campbel 4, Roop 1). Preston 4 (White 2, Miller 1, Zuchowski 1).
