Inclement weather didn’t stop Trinity basketball from hosting four games in Calgaard Gymnasium this past weekend on Friday, Jan. 23 and Saturday, Jan. 24. The men’s team had a successful weekend, winning both of their games to take first place in the Southern Athletic Association (SAA) nearly halfway through the season. They defeated Sewanee 103-84 on Friday and held off Centre College 96-90 on Saturday. The women’s team continued their winning streak when they beat Sewanee on Friday 94-65, but lost to Centre on Saturday, in overtime, 76-84, despite having a 21 point lead in the third quarter.
Jan. 23: Women’s basketball vs. Sewanee
The first game of the season tipped off at 6 p.m. in Calgaard Gymnasium. The Tigers capitalized off of three Sewanee turnovers, and came out strong in the first quarter with a 9-0 lead. Sophomore guard Livy Sauvageau made a three-pointer and gave the Tigers their first double digit lead of the night. After Sewanee fouled senior guard Kylie Minter on a three- point attempt, she made all three free throws to bring the score to 30-7. The Tigers came out of the half scoring four points, bringing the score to 54-26, and the team held onto a 20 point lead for the rest of the game.
The Tigers hit the 100 point mark, with all five starters achieving double-digit points during the game. Senior forward Natalie Greenwood earned a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Junior guard Ivory Scott scored 11 points while shooting 80% from the field and 75% from three. Sauvageau scored 11 points and tied her career high of four steals, while Minter had 11 points too. Trinity’s defense also contributed to the win, forcing 17 steals and 23 turnovers thanks in part to their full-court press.
“We really focus on our full-court press,” senior guard Skye O’Rourke said. “It’s something that we really value as a team, and it’s a rare thing for a team to do all four quarters. That really helps us gain the momentum to help win our games.”
Jan. 23: Men’s basketball vs. Sewanee
Trinity students poured through the doors to grab a slice of pizza provided by Tigers’ Head Coach Marwan “Rock” Elrakabawy to cheer on the men’s team as they faced off against Sewanee for the first time since 2011. The Tigers forced 22 turnovers, and scored a total of 32 points off of them alone. Sophomore forward Jackson Lawson finished off the night with a career high of 35 points, the most on the men’s team since 2005. Sophomore forward Will Bronson earned another double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. He also had a career high of six blocks during the game. Junior guard Dylan Walker, sidelined for the season with a knee injury, commented on his fellow teammate’s performance this far in the season.
“Will is a monster. He’s a double-double machine,” Walker said. “He’s going to get you 10 rebounds a game.”
Sewanee started the first few minutes of the game with a 20-8 lead. Trinity responded with an 11-1 run to make it a three point game. Trinity then went on a 10-0 scoring run, taking the lead for the first time 39-38. Sewanee reclaimed the lead at the last seconds of the half with a buzzer-beating three. Trinity then rolled in the second half. Lawson scored nine points during Trinity’s early 13-3 run. Junior guard Dean Balo’s layup secured the Tigers a double-digit lead early in the second half. The Tigers maintained their intensity and won with a near 20-point lead, 103-84, in a contest marked by two completely different halves.
“I just thought, in general, the difference between the first and second half was just the elevated level of force and physicality that we played with,” Elrakabawy said. “And then when you are fortunate to pair that with some hot shooting, which we did, we shot the ball really, really well in the second half. That just kind of feeds into a virtuous cycle that continues to happen.”
Jan. 24: Women’s basketball vs. Centre
Trinity’s loss against Centre on Saturday ended the Tigers’ undefeated conference run. They will face off against Sewanee and Centre again next weekend on Friday, Jan. 30 and Sunday, Feb. 1, giving them another opportunity to return to the top spot in the SAA. Coming off their win the prior night, the women’s team held the lead for a majority of the game, with their largest lead being 21 points in the third quarter. Minter put up 17 points, followed by Sauvageau and Greenwood with 13.
The Tigers shooting percentage dropped to 25% in the fourth quarter while Centre’s shot up to 53%, flipping the score. Centre scored free throws off shooting fouls in the final moments of regulation to tie the score and push the game into overtime. Centre scored eight points in overtime, which was enough to secure the comeback victory, 84-76.
Jan. 24: Men’s basketball vs Centre
With their second win of the weekend, the Tigers held on to first place in the SAA. Bronson led the team with another double-double. He scored 23 points, got 13 rebounds, two blocks and shot 88% from the field. Balo put up 20 points and five rebounds.
The Tigers started out the game with a double-digit lead, until the last five minutes of the game, when Centre began closing the gap. Trinity held on to the lead and won its second game of the weekend, 96-90.
“In the end, it was just some timely shots and plays by our veteran guys. I think Dean Balo had two really big buckets late,” Elrakabawy said. “Will [Bronson] got a tough rebound, and got fouled and made free throws. Guys made free throws down the stretch. Zach [Fenn] made a couple free throws. You just kind of grind it out. Find a way to win.”
