NEW MADISON – The Tri-Village Lady Patriots used a strong defensive effort and a decisive surge in the middle two quarters to pull away from Newton for a 47-22 WOAC victory, scoring 34 of their points in the second and third periods.
“I thought we were really good defensively,” said Tri-Village coach Brad Gray. “I know it was close after the first quarter, but we had the feeling after the first quarter that we were in complete control of everything that was happening, and we haven’t felt that way for a while.”
The teams battled evenly through the opening eight minutes, with senior Adalynn Hines scoring six of Tri-Village’s points to give the Lady Patriots a narrow 9-7 edge after one quarter.
Tri-Village began to create separation in the second period as Hines continued her hot shooting, scoring 10 points in the quarter. Tatum Gray knocked down a three-pointer, Sydnee DeLong added a bucket, and Tai Mize chipped in a free throw to send the Patriots to the locker room with a 25-11 halftime advantage.
The Lady Patriots took complete control in the third quarter behind relentless ball pressure and aggressive drives to the basket. Hines scored eight more points in the period, while Mize and Alexa Light each drained a three-pointer. Reagan Hunt and Kenna Wilcox also contributed baskets as Tri-Village outscored Newton 18-5 in the quarter, building a commanding 43-16 lead heading into the fourth.
“The way they were guarding her tonight opened up driving lanes for her,” Gray said of Hines. “They were closing really hard anytime she got a catch at the 3-point line. They were closing extremely hard, trying to run her off the 3-point line, which played into her strength, which is allowing her to get rim attacks.”
With the outcome decided, the fourth quarter was a low-scoring affair. Newton took the period 6-4, but Tri-Village still secured the 25-point conference win.
“That’s a team that beat Arcanum 51-48 the last time out, and everybody knows that Arcanum is in the thick of this thing chasing a league championship,” Gray said of Newton. “For them to go out and score 51 on them and then score four points after we kind of took our main rotation out, I’m pretty happy with the defense.”
Tri-Village’s defensive pressure was a major factor, as the Lady Patriots recorded 17 steals and forced 24 Newton turnovers on the night.
Hines led all scorers with a game-high 24 points, scoring all of her points through the first three quarters.
“I know we didn’t shoot it well, and we haven’t been shooting it great, but we know we’re capable,” Gray said. “I think Newton knows we’re capable, so they’re not wanting to over-help off of shooters on the perimeter, and it gave Adalynn some driving lanes.”
“She was able to make some layups because we did struggle early putting the ball in the basket on some of our easy ones,” he added. “We knew she had a great offensive production night for us. The next game, it will probably be somebody different. That is what is good about this team—there are a lot of kids on this team that can put numbers on the board.”
BOX SCORE:
TRI-VILLAGE 47, NEWTON 22
TRI-VILLAGE – A. Hines 24, T. Mize 8, K. Wilcox 4, A. Light 4, T. Gray 3, R. Hunt 2, S. Delong 2 – TOTALS 15 8-13 3 47
NEWTON – R. Hess 10, B. Hess 5, A. Cottrell 4, B. Hines 2, M. Cosby 1 – TOTAL 7 5-10 1 22
3-POINTERS
Tri-Village 3 (T. Gray 1, T. Mize 1, A. Light 1)
Newton 1 (B. Hess 1)
SCORE by QUARTERS
09-16-18-04 47 Tri-Village
07-04-05-06 22 Newton
