MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — There wasn’t just one gaping hole in the Trinity lineup heading into this season. All five starters needed to be replaced for the Warriors girls’ basketball team that was coming off a state semifinal appearance last year, but it’s hard to argue the most important loss was that of point guard Reagan Sharp.
Sharp, the school’s all-time leading scorer and a four-year starter, is now in her freshman year at Davis & Elkins, so Trinity needed to find a replacement in the backcourt.
As the regular season winds to a close, sophomore Liv Austin steadily worked her way into one of the go-to — or go-through — threats for the Warriors (12-11).
“Liv is a really hard worker and really wants to be great,” coach Mike Baldy said. “Liv and Katie (White) have run the point together this season and I have been hard on them. I’m trying to push them to be leaders on the court. As a staff, we are working to get Liv’s decision-making caught up with her physical abilities. When that happens, she’s going to be a force.”
Austin wasn’t originally in the Warriors’ plans, though. She wasn’t on the team last season after spending her freshman year at Morgantown High, but transferred to Trinity and was ruled eligible by the WVSSAC.
While it took some time getting used to her new team, Austin knew it was best for her to move on to something different, especially to help herself off the court.
“Personally, I feel that the change from MHS to Trinity was pretty easy for me,” she said. “MHS wasn’t really a good place mentally for me and once I came here, I just found myself doing a lot better grade-wise and athletic-wise. Basketball has always been my sport, so at first, whenever I came here, I wasn’t looking to play for the team until I got my grades OK.”
With her grades boosted and on-court performance growing, Austin averaged 12.9 points, 3.9 assists and 5.9 rebounds per game. She isn’t scoring as much as Sharp did a year ago, but Austin doesn’t have to with the emergence of junior Jaclyn Smith as the top scoring threat.
But at just 5-foot-3, Austin’s ability to rebound is proof of her hustle and pure athletic ability, according to Baldy. As she continues to play, she will only get better.
“Liv is a great kid to work with,” Baldy said. “She is really receptive of all kinds of coaching. I have been hard on her this year because I know how good she can be.”
Austin and Trinity will begin sectional play at 7 p.m. Saturday at Clay-Battelle (12-9) with the loser’s season coming to an end.
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