NEW MADISON – The Tri-Village Lady Patriots shook off sluggish starts to both halves and relied on their defense to pull away from the Dixie Lady Greyhounds, earning a 51-18 win in Western Ohio Athletic Conference varsity girls basketball action Thursday night.
“I thought we were mediocre – we didn’t come out of the gate very well,” said Tri-Village veteran coach Brad Gray. “Early in games, Dixie has been extremely competitive, and that’s a tribute to their coaches for getting them ready and having good game plans. They kind of hit us in the mouth early, and even coming out of halftime, it took us three minutes before we got our first bucket in the third quarter. Those are things that are a little disappointing.”
Dixie capitalized on Tri-Village’s slow start, jumping out to a 4-0 lead that stood for the first two-and-a-half minutes. Tri-Village finally broke through when Taytum Gray knocked down a baseline three-pointer at the 5:30 mark to trim the deficit to 4-3. A second Gray triple at 4:46 gave the Lady Patriots their first lead of the night at 6-4, a lead they would not relinquish.
Tri-Village closed the opening quarter with Gray adding a basket to go with her two threes, an Alexa Light three-pointer, and buckets from Sydnee DeLong and Tai Mize to take a 15-7 lead after one period of play.
The Lady Patriots continued to extend the margin in the second quarter, outscoring Dixie 12-4. DeLong scored four points in the frame, Adalynn Hines drilled a three-pointer, Mize and Kena Wilcox each added a basket, and Gray chipped in a free throw to send Tri-Village to the halftime break with a 27-11 advantage.
Despite another slow offensive start coming out of the locker room, Tri-Village’s defense again set the tone. The Lady Patriots won the third quarter 14-4, led by seven points from Hines, including a three-pointer and a perfect 2-for-2 trip to the free-throw line. Gray added five points with a three and two free throws, while Light contributed a two-point basket as Tri-Village pushed its lead to 41-14 heading into the fourth.
A Hines free throw at the 3:06 mark of the final period put the running clock in motion with Tri-Village ahead 51-16, prompting wholesale substitutions from the Lady Patriots’ bench. The game played out to a 51-18 final score.
Tri-Village’s defense held Dixie to single-digit scoring in all four quarters and limited the Lady Greyhounds to just seven points in the second half.
“I felt like we were a little lackadaisical defensively at times,” Gray said. “We missed some rotations tonight, but our defense has really been our calling card these last few weeks. Early in the year we struggled, but defensively we’ve really bought into what we’re trying to do, and that’s helped us get going offensively.”
Gray led all scorers with 14 points, while Hines added 13 for the Lady Patriots.
Tri-Village now turns its attention to a demanding stretch of games beginning Tuesday, January 13, at home against Bellbrook. Additional upcoming tests include Oakwood at Tri-Village on January 17, a road game at Minster on January 24, a trip to Chaminade Julienne on January 31, and a regular-season finale at Versailles on February 7.
“We have a brutal schedule coming up,” Gray said. “It starts Tuesday with Bellbrook. They really smacked us last year, and a lot of those kids are back. We have to be ready from the opening tip, handle their pressure, and make sure we’re taking good shots when we have them. I thought we passed up too many good looks tonight.”
BOX SCORE:
TRI-VILLAGE 51, DIXIE 18
TRI-VILLAGE – T. Gray 14, A. Hines 13, S. DeLong 8, K. Wilcox 5, A. Light 5, T. Mize 4, R. Hunt 2 – TOTALS 11 8-10 7
DIXIE – E. McQueen 6, M. Caldwell 3, B. Himan 3, E. Kreitzer 2, K. McConnell 2, K. Hypes 2 – TOTALs 4 4-9 2 18
3-POINTERS
Tri-Village 7 (T. Gray 3, A. Hines 2, K. Wilcox 1, A. Light 1)
Dixie 2 (B. Himan 1, E. McQueen 1)
SCORE by QUARTERS
15-12-14-10 51 Tri-Village
07-04-03-04 18 Dixie
