The Trenton Lady Bulldogs, after Friday afternoon’s loss to Lutheran North, showed a bit of disappointment in going 0-2 in their first-ever trip to the Show-Me Showdown, but most of the tears shed by a young group involved the fact that the team’s floor leader, senior Whitley Richman, had played her final game in Black and Gold.
Trenton, over the course of two days, played a pair of St. Louis area schools at two different sites at the University of Missouri, with the Lady Bulldogs falling to the Whitfield Lady Warriors in Thursday’s semifinal round, 53-41, before giving up the final five points of their third-place game against Lutheran North, coming up short by a final score of 61-56.
In Thursday’s game at the Hearnes Center, the Lady Bulldogs, perhaps fighting the emotions of playing their first time in Columbia, fell behind 9-1 to Whitfield. The final four minutes of the quarter were dominated by the Grand River Conference champions, with junior Ashten Whitaker, coming into state with just 10 three-pointers made over the course of the season, getting hot from beyond the arc in quick fashion.
Tom Johnson had the call on Hot Country Z 101.7:
Whitaker’s flurry of shots pulled Trenton to within 14-12 by the end of the first quarter, but the Lady Bulldogs struggled to control Whitfield sophomore forward Aijha Blackwell, who tallied 12 of her 22 points in the second quarter, helping the Lady Warriors to a 28-22 halftime lead. However, the quarter was not without positives for THS, who forced a Warrior time out after grabbing a one-point lead midway through the quarter. A 7-0 run out of the timeout sent the lead back to Whitfield, with the Warriors holding the advantage for the rest of the contest.
While Trenton remained very competitive, the combination of Blackwell’s size and athleticism, along with pin-point three-point shooting by freshman guard Jade Moore, proved difficult to reel in. Moore finished with 11 points, including a trio of three-point shots, while forward Nia Griffin had 10. Despite a fourth three-point shot in the third quarter from Whitaker, Whitfield extended the lead to double digits (42-31) by the end of the third quarter, and held off the Lady Bulldogs in the final quarter, winning 53-41. The Warriors defense held Trenton to just six made field goals in the second half, while Tolson and Richman combining to add six points via the free throw route.
In the post-game press conference at the Hearnes Center, Whitaker credited her 12 point effort on confidence given to her by both Coach Brian Upton, and a teammate:
Coach Upton said he was not surprised by how his young squad rallied from an early deficit:
The win sent Whitfield to the Class 3 state title game against Strafford, improving the Lady Warriors record to 25-7. Richman scored 15 points and added 11 rebounds for the Lady Bulldogs:
The loss was Trenton’s fourth of the campaign, dropping the Lady Bulldogs to 27-4.
Coming back on Friday, THS locked horns with the Crusaders of Lutheran North High School, one of the few teams in Class 3 that can claim more youth than Trenton. Against a team that started four sophomores and a freshman, the Lady Bulldogs matched Lutheran North throughout the game, which was tied at 15 after the first quarter, with Trenton up at the half, 27-26. The Lady Bulldogs kept the advantage at the end of three quarters, 41-40.
The game was tied at 56 with 35 seconds left, when the Crusaders hit what would become the game-winning basket. Trenton failed to tie the game on the following possession, and was forced to foul, with LNHS hitting three free throws late to create the final margin.
Richman, in her final game for THS, had an 18 point, 10 rebound contest, hitting 8 of 10 from the free-throw line. Sophomore point guard Ainsley Tolson, using an attacking style to go against the Lutheran North defense, ended her season with a 17 point, 4 rebound game. Ashten Whitaker hit another three-pointer, her fifth of the Show-Me Showdown, to finish with eight points. Sidney Lynch had six points and added 13 rebounds, playing strong interior defense against the Lutheran North athleticism.
Kaylynn Hayden led the Crusaders with 20 points (18 in the second half) and 7 rebounds, with Jordyn White adding 14 points and nine rebounds, while Madison Buford had 10 points. Lutheran North finishes the season at 22-9, with Trenton ending its best season in program history with 27 wins against 5 losses, and a multitude of championships, including the Gallatin Tournament, Lawson Tournament, Hamilton Tournament, District 16 Tournament, along with the first two playoff wins in school history, coming against Lawson (March 1st) and Kansas City Southeast (March 4th).
While the Lady Bulldogs lose Richman to graduation, hopes are high for future success at Trenton High School, with four sophomore starters (Salem Croy, Mykah Hurley, Ainsley Tolson, and Sidney Lynch) returning, in addition to junior Ashten Whitaker, who played superbly in moving into a starting role after an ankle injury ended Croy’s season in late January. Key sophomore contributors in Taylor Richman and Saedee Jackson, and a freshman class that had a successful junior varsity season, should add to an athletic group in 2017-2018.
