Community R-6 girls wear down Slater in 53-34 win despite setbacks

The Community R-6 girls were impressed with Slater’s fight Friday night at home.

The Lady Trojans defeated their Central Activities Conference foe, and their new head coach Rachel Harding, 53-34 despite allowing an 18-point scorer and being short on players.

Head coach Bob Curtis said Kenna Lemmon’s “motor never did quit” and neither did Slater’s team as it almost matched the Lady Trojans’ totals in the second through fourth quarters after falling behind 20-9 after one.

“Every time we tried to pull away they would put a run together,” Curtis said. “With Aaliyah Welch out with an illness, we got into some foul trouble and needed freshman Jocelyn Curtis to step up and guard their size inside. She helped give our starters a breather and kept them off the boards. Brooklyn (Glasgow) and Kayla (Jett) helped out defensively wearing their athletic guards down and freshman Peyton Beamer helped handle the ball.”

Curtis said Slater (0-6, 0-1 CAC) applied much half-court pressure to senior point guard Sarah Angel, who finished with 10 points and four steals. Olivia Kuda led the offense with 16 points and seven rebounds, Alyssa Beamer had 13 points on three 3-pointers and two steals, Kayla Jett finished with seven points, and Kylie Brooks had four points and five rebounds.

The Lady Trojans (6-0, 2-0 CAC) begin the season with six straight wins for the first time since the 2020-21 campaign that saw a 24-2 record. They put their undefeated record on the line against an undefeated North Shelby at home Monday, losing 59-33, before traveling to conference foe Sturgeon on Tuesday night and facing North Callaway (3-3 as of Monday) at 1:30 p.m. in the Gary Filbert Classic at the Mexico Sports Complex in Mexico.

Trojans lose Slater, Terrill in second half in 54-50 loss

The Community R-6 boys wanted to reduce Brandon Terrill’s role for Slater on Friday night but couldn’t hold him down for long.

The Trojans led by five points at halftime and by as much as 10 in the second quarter before ultimately losing 54-50 to their Central Activities Conference foe at home. Terrill scored a game-high 36 points for Slater (4-3, 1-0 CAC) after finishing the first half with 14 of the Wildcats’ 18 points.

Gavin Allen led Community (2-3, 1-1 CAC) with 26 points, and Mason Carroll followed with 14 points.

Head coach Tad Shotten said the Trojan defense was focused on bothering Slater’s two best players, including Terrill. It worked for one half, but mistakes at the end of the first half and Slater’s surge in the second half led to Community’s first conference loss.

“(Terrill) really got going in the third quarter and hit some really deep 3s that were well-contested,” Shotten said. “I’m proud of how we fought the entire game, and we had a chance to win at the end but he got us. Going forward, I have to get more production out of a few starters if we want to be competitive.”

Community hosted North Shelby on Monday night, winning 56-53, before traveling to conference foe Sturgeon on Tuesday night and facing North Callaway (2-3 as of Tuesday) at 3:15 Saturday for the Gary Filbert Classic at the Mexico Sports Complex in Mexico.