Trinity’s head coach Mike Baldy talks with his team on Thursday. 
Trinity’s Olivia Austin (15) makes a layup against Weir on Thursday. 
Trinity’s Jaclyn Smith (12) works the ball down the court against Weir on Thursday. 
Trinity’s Maggie Mercure (24) and Weir’s Leah Maley (23) vie for the rebound on Thursday. 
Trinity’s Maggie Mercure (24) and Weir’s Leah Maley (23) vie for the rebound on Thursday. 
Trinity’s head coach Mike Baldy talks with his team on Thursday. 
Trinity’s head coach Mike Baldy talks with Jaclyn Smith (12) on Thursday. 
Trinity’s Olivia Austin (15) hits a shot against Weir on Thursday. 
Trinity’s Jaclyn Smith (12) works the ball down the court against Weir on Thursday. 
Trinity’s Olivia Austin (15) is pressured by four Weir players on Thursday. 
Trinity’s Olivia Austin (15) is pressured by four Weir players on Thursday. 
Trinity’s Maggie Mercure (24) protects the ball from Weir’s Taylor Nutter (25) on Thursday. 
Trinity’s Jaclyn Smith (12) hits a shot against Weir on Thursday. 
Trinity’s Olivia Austin (15) is pressured by four Weir players on Thursday. 
Trinity’s Olivia Austin (15) shoots over Weir’s Taylor Nutter (25) on Thursday.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — After falling to Class A No. 4 Gilmer County on Tuesday, Trinity Christian now finds itself in a two-game skid following another home loss — this time to unranked Weir, 59-43.
The Red Riders (4-7) traveled to Sabraton on the tail end of its own losing streak — a four-game skid — and came out on top, even in the face of a standout 27-point performance by the Warriors’ leading scorer junior Jaclyn Smith.
Smith was just one of three girls to score Thursday night and one of two to reach double digits ahead of Olivia Austin’s 14 points. Even though Austin and Smith combined for the majority of the points, the scoring took a back seat to rebounding and boxing out woes and failed fast breaks, which are two things Trinity coach Mike Baldy pointed out after the game.
“Believe it or not, it’s getting better,” Baldy said. “It’s been really bad, but we’re trying to create good habits. We use the word ‘habits’ a thousand times in practice. We’re not a bad boxing out team when we box out. If we can create that habit, we’ll be in good shape.”
A highlight for the Warriors (4-7) was their defensive pressure against Weir, in total forcing 21 turnovers. Even with the defensive production, Trinity was also victim to a quick-footed defense that forced 25 turnovers. That’s something Baldy noted as a recurring theme saying, “Away from the ball we go to sleep sometimes and we have to understand its [5 on 5] and not just the player trapping the ball. If we can start to grasp that, we can turn teams over [more] than we’re giving the ball up.”
Weir started out hot with an 8-0 run that was finally snapped by Austin with a lay-up. Smith eventually traded shots with Austin as the two put up six and four points, respectively, to put the Warriors on the board. Weir had already grabbed a comfortable lead, up 18-10 at the end of the 1st quarter.
It would prove difficult for the Warriors to snap that lead, going scoreless through the first 3 minutes of the second quarter as the Red Riders jumped ahead to a 15-point lead. Smith got the Warriors back in the mix with two free throws, but Weir kept pushing the tempo and forcing turnovers to end the half up 37-18.
After going 0 of 9 from beyond the arc in the first half, Smith and Austin began to knock down 3-pointers to cut the deficit down to nine and force a Weir timeout early in the fourth quarter. As soon as shots began to fall for Trinity, things iced over and the power transferred back to the Red Riders. Following the two treys, Trinity would go 2 of 10 from the field while Weir kept bullying the Warriors down low and from midrange to hit 7 of 15 shots and close the game out.
In total, Weir shot 27 of 54 from the field and 1 of 7 from 3-point range. Trinity wasn’t able to put the ball up as much, resulting in an 8 of 32 performance from the field and a 4 of 15 showing from beyond the arc. Where Trinity shined, however, was from the charity stripe knocking down 15 of 23 free throws.
Smith alone hit 13 of 16 free throws and the effects of getting fouled so much showed. Multiple times through the second half she grabbed at her wrist, clearly in pain, but the upperclassman gritted her teeth and kept fighting for Trinity — something Baldy noted and appreciated.
“She’s having a nice season,” Baldy said. “We knew she would probably be the go-to girl [being] the one with the most experience. But she has far exceeded my expectations, especially offensively. Our point guard last year [Reagan Sharp] was first team all-state, and Jaclyn is scoring way more than Reagan. Not that scoring is everything, but Jac’s giving us a lot of production. And tonight her attitude was great, which I love.”
Sophia Mikula led the Red Riders with 22 points, while Sophia Aperfine tossed in 10. Additionally, Reagan Hoover and Bella Aperfine each had eight.
“Transition offense and defense — we got in the habit of bringing the ball up and trying to walk really slow,” Baldy said. “We want to push the ball up, get it to the wing and go from there. We have to also create the habit of getting back on defense and seeing our zone before we get to it. Early in the game, we didn’t stop the ball early. [But] the absolute most important thing is full-time hustle: We have to play our absolute hardest all times. If we can do that, I think we can get back to Charleston.”
Trinity returns to action at 7 p.m. today with a home game against Jefferson Morgan (Pa.).
