Lady Trojans come up short on big moments vs Salisbury, take second place in Sturgeon

The Community R-6 girls just took too many damaging blows on Saturday night.

Community R-6 Sturgeon Tournament Photo Gallery

The Lady Trojans almost erased a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter of the Sturgeon Tournament championship only for Salisbury to pull away to give the Lady Trojans a 47-39 loss, snapping a 10-game winning streak.

Tori Ricketts sustained some contact on a good layup before completing the 3-point play, pushing Salisbury’s lead to 42-37, which only grew after some free throws. It was also Ricketts that nailed a buzzer beater from half court to end the third quarter with a 32-25 Salisbury lead. Head coach Bob Curtis said too many of those types of moments happened for the Lady Panthers (13-6) and not enough of those shots went for the Lady Trojans (17-3).

“That was a crushing blow for sure. When she hit that sucker going into the fourth. I really felt like we had the momentum, then she dropped one from half court,” Curtis said. “I just kind of saw the girls’ body language change. I thought we were fighting up a hill all night, and the basket was much easier for them than us. They made some big plays. That’s what you got to do in big games to get a win.”

Salisbury had a 29-19 lead in the third quarter following a 3 -pointer from Emersyn Hammons, who led the Lady Panthers with 13 points along with Julia Sloan, but then Sarah Angel scored six of game-high 19 points — to go along with her three steals — in the eight minutes to cut into the deficit. Aaliyah Welch was Community’s second leading scorer with six points.

Angel was a key contributor again in the fourth quarter as the Lady Trojans battled back down 39-28 after another Hammons 3-pointer. Olivia Kuda grabbed 12 rebounds but also took a charge when Community trailed 39-33, putting the Lady Trojans in the bonus.

“I think we had three charges in the semifinal (against Sturgeon on Wednesday). We have kids who are willing to put their body in position to draw a foul on their player,” Curtis said. “I thought we were there. Offensively, we couldn’t put a run together — three or four possessions to take the lead.”

Alyssa Beamer also took a charge, as she often does, but had to come out of the game after falling hard on the floor. Curtis said the trainer said she was fine so Beamer returned to the floor later in the game.

Salisbury’s post presence made sure Community had obscured looks at the rim as Joslynn Brown grabbed a game-high 17 rebounds, Julia Sloan followed with 12 boards and Ricketts had six rebounds to go with 12 points. Salisbury finished with seven blocks as well, evenly distributing the rejections.

Salisbury shot out to a 16-8 lead with five minutes left until halftime after Taylor Nolke capped an 11-0 run with a 3-pointer. Angel scored off a couple of her steals to help the Lady Trojans make it 17-16, but that was as close as they could get as Klaire Wyatt blocked two shots just before the break.

“Joslynn Brown is a 6-footer and jumps really well so it’s hard to get to the rim with her. She affects a lot of shots in the middle of the lane,” Curtis said. “We had to hit some perimeter jumpers, and they weren’t falling. That really made us struggle from the field. We didn’t get a lot of second opportunities.”

Angel followed Kuda’s night on the boards with her four rebounds, which ended up not being enough and prevented Community from getting the second opportunities it usually likes to have, Curtis said.

Sloan picked up her 10th rebound on an offensive putback, making it 34-28 Salisbury with about six minutes left in the fourth quarter, to respond to a Welch 3-pointer. Brown had 13 rebounds at that point.

Curtis said Community (5-0 CAC), who received votes in the latest Class 1 state poll, has to move on despite the streak ending as it had to face Central Activities Conference foe and Class 2 No. 3 Cairo (16-2, 4-0 CAC) on the road at 6 p.m. Thursday. The Lady Trojans then have conference foe Pilot Grove (16-4, 4-1 CAC) at home at 6 p.m. Friday.

Trojans' shots decline in 51-42 Sturgeon consolation final loss to Paris

From the start of the game, the Paris boys didn’t think they would be in the position to seal the game with free throws.

After falling behind 24-8 to start Saturday’s Sturgeon Tournament consolation final, Paris overcame deficits to defeat Community R-6 51-42. The Coyotes knocked down 18-of-25 free throws – 10-of-12 in the fourth quarter after holding Community to 18 points in the second half.

Paris head coach Brad Skinner said the first quarter made it seem like it would be a long day after allowing 18 points in the first eight minutes, but his players clamped down on defense to initially cut Paris’ deficit to 24-21 at halftime and then take a 35-33 lead after the third quarter. He said it was nice to defeat the Trojans after they spoiled Paris’ Courtwarming on Jan. 20 with a 49-35 loss.

“Last Friday, we gave up 18 points in the first half, and this time, we gave up 18 points in the first quarter,” Skinner said. “We didn’t give up double digits in any quarter after that. We weren’t talking, we weren’t moving our feet, they were getting by us, and our help side wasn’t there. Once we picked it up defensively, we played like we should.”

Community (11-10) executed well in the first quarter, head coach Tad Shotten said, as Eli Johnson, Mason Carroll and Gavin Allen each hit a 3-pointer in that eight minutes. After the first few minutes of the second quarter, shots weren’t falling for the Trojans, allowing Paris to close the first half on a 13-0 run.
Shotten said he didn’t like the shot selection throughout the game as those along with turnovers gave Paris opportunities to score at the other end.

“We forced some bad shots. When you take bad shots, it’s a turnover,” Shotten said. “They ramped up the defensive pressure a little bit.”

Carroll led Community with 15 points, seven rebounds and two 3-pointers, Gavin Allen followed with 13 points, five rebounds, three steals and two blocks, Tucker Robnett had seven points and seven rebounds, and Eli Johnson finished with seven points and two 3-pointers.

Mason Edwards led Paris (9-9) with 14 points, hitting three 3-pointers, Evan Smothers followed with 13 points, Colton Poddany had eight points, and Alex Williams finished with six points and five rebounds.

Edwards knocked down his 3-pointers at key times, including two as the Coyotes climbed back into the game in the second quarter and an immediate response to Eli Johnson’s 3-pointer in the third quarter, making it 33-31 Community at the time. He said the Coyotes had added motivation against the Trojans this time around following the events of Courtwarming.

“We really wanted to beat this team,” Edwards said. “We were pretty fired up, and when we got down, we were like, ‘We’ve got to come back and win this game.’ I think that’s what led to runs.

“I haven’t really been able to hit 3s too well this year, but this game was different. I made a 3, and my shot just felt smooth. When I was open and found the chance to shoot, I just tried to help out my team and it ended up working out.”

Shotten noticed that the Coyotes were more effective shooting than the first time, but he said a constant with Paris’ physicality. Community lost the lead late in the third quarter after Williams put back an offensive rebound to tie and Edwards hit a couple free throws for the lead and had to deal with being in the penalty at seven second-half fouls.

“When you get into foul trouble against them, it’s tough because they’re a really physical team,” Shotten said. “There were a lot of fouls on both ends, and we’re not the deepest team so fouls definitely hurt us.”

The game was tied at 37 in the fourth quarter until Paris surged out ahead permanently while the Trojans struggled from the field. Carroll was fouled on a 3-pointer, knocking down all the free throws, but Paris also didn’t miss much at the line.

Smothers finished 5-for-6 on free throws, and Poddany converted on all four of his free throws. All of those free shots were awarded to them in the fourth quarter.

“If we don’t knock those down, it’s a completely different ballgame,” Skinner said. “We’ve been talking about how free throws win close games all year. Sometimes, we’re shooting around 50 percent, and tonight, we shot closer to 75 percent. That was the difference in the ballgame.”

Community (3-2 CAC) played at Central Activities Conference foe Cairo (12-7, 4-0 CAC) at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday before hosting conference foe Pilot Grove (8-11, 1-4 CAC) at 7:30 p.m. Friday. 

Trojans bounce back with 55-38 win vs New Bloomfield

Community R-6 boys head coach Tad Shotten admitted his team didn’t shoot the ball well to start the Sturgeon Tournament.

After Tuesday’s 57-36 loss to South Callaway, Thursday’s game was much better for the Trojans as they defeated New Bloomfield 55-38 to advance to the consolation final on Saturday against Paris.

Mason Carroll led with 24 points, Gavin Allen followed with 13 points and Tucker Robnett had 10 points.