The Tigers earned two convincing victories this weekend over the bottom two teams in SCAC conference play””Centenary and Colorado College.
Friday, Jan. 23, they beat a winless Centenary 86-35 at home. This win was their largest margin of victory this season (51 points), the fewest points allowed (35) and a season best for points scored (86).
Trinity held a comfortable lead throughout the half, their only deficit was after the first possession of the game, but they were up 34-24 at the half.
“We pressed both teams at the end of the games,” said sophomore guard Allison Staley. “Centenary we pressed the rest of the game, I think that is why we scored so much; it’s because we pressed so much and they couldn’t really handle it.”
The Tigers exploded in the second half and outscored the Ladies 52-11. They opened the second half with a 27-6 scoring run, and clamped down defensively, holding the Ladies to only 19 percent shooting in the half and 24 percent in the game. The Tigers on the other hand shot 46 percent in the second half and 44 percent for the game.
Sophomore guard Monica Holguin and first-year guard Rebecca Gordon were the leading scorers with 12 points each.
“We need to focus every game no matter who we are playing or what their record is,” said senior guard Hannah Coley. “We need to go into every game, playing our basketball, and not worry about what the opponent is trying to do.”
Saturday, Jan. 24, the Tigers earned another lopsided win (70-43) against Colorado College at home.
The game was out of reach for Colorado College from the opening minutes. Trinity began the game with a 16-2 run, and never looked back. By halftime, their lead had grown to 33-16.
In the second half, Trinity opened up a 43-point lead (66-23) with 6 minutes and 35 seconds remaining in the game. Colorado College closed the gap down the stretch with a 20-10 scoring run, but the earlier lead proved insurmountable.
“We just really figured them out by the second half and we were able to use what was working the best. Our girls really played with a lot of confidence offensively in both games in the second half,” said head coach Cameron Hill.
Senior guard Lauren Splawn finished with a game-high 13 points. Junior forward Anecia Richardson added 12 points, going 6-11 from the field, and tied the team-high seven rebounds. She is now only five points shy of tying Teresa Machu (1980-1984) for 10th place in Tiger women’s scoring history. Gordon again scored 12 points for the Tigers.
Coley, a senior starter and team captain, was out for both games this weekend with a high ankle sprain and is hopeful to be back in the starting lineup by the end of the season.
You can’t replace Hannah (Coley) everybody knows that””she’s an amazing player and a great leader,” Hill said. “Our girls really did a nice job plugging those holes, and we had some kids step up and play really well””so that’s encouraging.”
Trinity has now won four straight games in conference play and won 15 of their last 16. They have a 15-3, 6-1 record and lead the SCAC.
Next weekend begins the second half of conference matches with Trinity facing off against these same two teams on the road.
“We are going to do pretty much the same things,” Staley said. “Sure we beat them twice, but we are not going to become complacent and come out thinking we are going to win because you never know.”
At 6 p.m. Friday, January 30, the Tigers face off against Centenary in Shreveport, La, and at 6 p.m. Saturday, January 31 they play Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Colo.
