The backcourt duo of Jenna Barnett and Ella Lynch led the Trinity girls’ basketball team to the OVAC tournament title game with a 65-42 victory against Conotton Valley (Ohio)on Monday.
They did not do it alone, though.
Both seniors were held scoreless in the third quarter, which is when the Warriors’ complementary scoring and contributions from underclassmen, especially athletic freshman Peyton Moore.
The Warriors (11-4) roared out of the gate, hitting their first four shots — three 3-pointers and a turnover lay-up — and forced several turnovers with energetic defensive pressure to take a quick 11-0 lead and a 20-7 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
The young Rockets (8-9) kept Trinity within reach by leaning on smooth sophomore Delilah Williams and her eight first half points, but it was the blisteringly hot Lynch (who had scored 33, 19, and 19 in her last three games) who filled the basket with 24 first half points. After CV whittled the deficit down to 26-16 with 3:24 to play in the half, Lynch’s fourth triple of the half, followed by a steal and lay-in, restored the comfortable lead to 34-18 at the break.
Both teams were ragged offensively to start the second half – TC committed nine turnovers in the quarter, and just eight the rest of the game – but the Warriors’ defense clamped down on Williams (she went scoreless in the second half), turned the Rockets over nine times (on their way to 31 overall), and maintained a 14-point margin entering the fourth. However, CV’s Isabella Higgins got hot from behind the arc, hitting a pair (on her way to a team-high 13), and Trinity couldn’t score in the first three minutes of the quarter. Suddenly the Warriors’ lead was down to eight.
But Moore drove to the hoop, drew a foul, and calmly stroked a pair of free throws to break the ice, and the Warriors took off from there. Barnett converted several steals into fast break points, Lynch hit her final three-ball on the way to a game-high 29, and TC outscored CV 20-5 to win going away.
After the game, Trinity coach Mike Baldy felt this one pretty much went according to plan.
“We knew they were young (all but two of the Rockets’ points CV’s came from sophomores or freshmen), so we wanted to scare them a little,” he explained. “So we came out super high energy with our pressure, and when Ella is looking to score like she has been, that quick start really set the tone.
But Conotton Valley did a great job of settling down and getting back into the game in the second half,” he continued. “They’re going to be a very good team very soon. I did like how we handled that adversity, and I can’t say enough about how great our three-headed monster was tonight. Jenna handled the ball beautifully – what a luxury it is to just give her the ball and let her break pressure all by herself. Ella is playing the best basketball of her life right now, and Peyton’s energy, quickness, and defensive instincts are making us very hard to score against.”
As the Warriors head into this weekend’s OVAC title game, he knows his team’s basic recipe for success.
“Take a charging call, be +6 on baseline in-bound points, +5 on second-chance points, +5 on transition points, and make 65% from the line,” he smiled. “That’s the formula. Actually, it’s even simpler than that: when our effort is great, and our attitude is great, we’re a great team. We had both of those tonight, and look at the scoreboard. That’s what we have to do to keep it going.”
Trinity heads to Saturday afternoon’s OVAC tournament championship game against either two-time defending Class A state champ Cameron or Valley Wetzel. Tip-off at Harrison Central High School in Cadiz, Ohio is scheduled for 4:45 pm.
Box score
CONOTTON VALLEY (8-9)
Isabella Higgins 5 0-0 13 Dakoda Hott 0 2-4 2 Gretchin Rolli 1 0-1 2 Delilah Williams 3 2-2 8 Maggie Syx 2 0-0 4 Maddi Kelley 3 2-3 8 Ava Williams 2 0-0 5 Totals 16 6-10 42
TRINITY (11-4)
Jenna Barnett 4 3-4 11 Ella Rose Lynch 12 0-2 29 Peyton Moore 3 3-4 9 Kate Williams 1 0-0 3 Paige Hopkins 1 0-0 3 Sidney Deal 2 2-2 6 Kaylin Kurilko 2 0-0 4 Totals 25 8-12 65
Conotton Valley 7 11 13 11–42
Trinity 20 14 11 20–65
Three-pointers – CV 4 (A. Williams, Higgins 3), TCS 7 (K. Williams, Lynch 5, Hopkins)
Fouled Out – CV 1 (Rolli)
