The Collinwood High School Trojans and Trojanettes opened their seasons Friday night against Lexington, AL with the Trojans falling just short in a hard-fought game and the Trojanettes running away with a big victory.
In the first game, the Trojanettes started slow offensively but played tough defensively and were able to take a 25 – 17 lead into the half. The Trojanettes were able to find their stroke in the third quarter and continued the stellar defense, allowing them to outscore Lexington 16 to 7 in the quarter. This allowed the Trojanettes to take a 41-24 lead into the fourth and they never looked back as they went on to win by a final of 51-34. The Trojanettes were led by Kristen Retherford with 15 points and 5 rebounds, Emily Kautsky with 8 points and 4 rebounds, Asia Kelly added 6 points and 11 rebounds, and Alyssa Gray had 6 points and 2 rebounds. Others contributing were AC Whitehead with 5 points and 5 rebounds, Sophie Gobbell with 5 points and 2 rebounds, Brylee Harris with 4 points and 3 rebounds, Hayley Siems with 2 points and 2 rebounds, Harlee Haddock with 1 point and 2 rebounds, and Kaycee Luker with 1 rebound.
In the second contest, the Trojans struggled to get their offense started early, only scoring 5 points in the first quarter and falling behind 14-5 after the first. After shaking off some first game jitters the Trojans came out firing in the second quarter, scoring 18 in the quarter and cutting the deficit to 4 points at half with a 26-22 score. The third quarter saw the Trojans continue to play tough D and keep the score close, setting up for an exciting fourth quarter. The Trojans continued to play aggressive on both ends in the final quarter, and midway through the quarter Aiden Baskins scored a three-pointer to pull the score within 2 points. Unfortunately, that was as close as the Trojans could get as Lexington was able to hold the lead and lengthen it in the final minutes by hitting free throws to make the final 65-56. The Trojans were lead by Aiden Baskins and Peyton Ward with 13 points each, with Baskins hitting two 3 pointers. Others contributing were Noah Hollis 8 points (2- 3pt), Tucker Thompson 7 points (1- 3pt), Dayton Scott 6 points (1- 3pt), Dalton Chastain 5 points (1- 3pt), and Blair Holt 4 points.
The Trojans and Trojanettes will play next on Tuesday November 26 at Waterloo, AL at 6:00 PM and again Monday December 2 at home versus Hampshire at 6:00 PM. Make plans to come out and join the excitement surrounding the Trojans and Trojanettes!—Submitted
