The Trenton Lady Bulldogs found another tough challenge in their path on Tuesday night at NCMC’s Ketcham Community Center, with the second-seeded, 20-5 Carrollton Lady Trojans providing a formidable roadblock to the THS hopes of advancing to the Class 3, District 16 girls championship game.
However, in a style that the THS girls have stuck with all season long, the Lady Bulldogs relied on their rock-solid defense to stay in the game, then hit big shots in clutch time to win 23-21, sending a mostly-pro Trenton crowd at the Ketcham Community Center into instant celebration, as freshman Mirena King hit a dramatic game-winning shot at the final buzzer. Tom Johnson had the call on Hot Country Z 101.7:
Carrollton struggled to solve Trenton’s defense throughout the night, but the Lady Trojans did find a five-point lead in the game twice, with a 10-5 lead midway through the second quarter answered by a 5-0 Trenton run to send the game into halftime tied 10-10. Carrollton, boosted by a pair of three-point shots in the third quarter by Chloe Lock, had a 17-12 lead heading into the final quarter, only to see the Lady Bulldogs offense come alive with 11 points in the final eight minutes to rally for the win.
Trailing 21-18 within the last 90 seconds of regulation, Mirena King’s big sister Morgan, who had struggled from the three-point line throughout the contest, drilled a corner jumper, extending her school season record to 61 three-point shots, with this one providing a huge lift:
The dramatic victory left THS head coach Kameron Cool struggling to find ways to praise his team’s toughness and tenacity:
Mirena King had 13 points for Trenton, while Morgan King’s game-tying “3” would be the senior’s only points of the night. Teya Cooksey had five points, with Chandler Lynch providing a key bank shot for her only points of the game, coming in the fourth-quarter rally.
Trenton will play GRC East rival Milan at the Ketcham Community Center on Friday night at 6 o’clock, with coverage of the District 16 championship game on Hot Country Z 101.7. Trenton is now 17-10 on the season, with Carrollton finishing 20-6.
Milan, in earlier semifinal action heard on Z 101.7 from NCMC, took a strong challenge from #4 seed South Harrison head-on, trailing by five points after one quarter, but rallying with a 13-3 second quarter, and, behind a game-high 47 points from Cady Pauley, the Lady ‘Cats moved on with a 60-46 win.
The Lady Bulldogs lead after one quarter was 18-13, with the interior tandem of Emily Miller and All-GRC first-teamer Hannah Carter combining for 16 points. Up 26-21 at the half, Milan leaned on Pauley in the third quarter, with the senior needing 27 points to reach 3000 in her four-year varsity career. Pauley hit back-to-back three’s midway through the quarter to reach the milestone, and effectively ended South Harrison’s hopes of a fourth-quarter rally, with 12 free throw makes in 16 attempts in the fourth quarter.
Head coach Ched Hurley spoke about the early difficulties South Harrison’s size presented his squad:
Milan, with the win, improves to 21-6 on the season, and will look to advance to the Class 3 playoffs for the second consecutive year with a victory on Friday night against Trenton. South Harrison, a quickly improving program in the Grand River Conference, ends the year at 16-12.
