Lady Trojans Take Care Of Business At Home

In one of the more unusual matchups produced by the year 2020, the West Central Lady Trojans played host to Gary 21st Century Charter School. After having their season opener against Delphi postponed, the Lady Trojans would get their first game of the season in on Friday night against the unfamiliar Lady Cougars.

The unfamiliarity would not hamper the effort of the Lady Trojans, as they would have the pedal to the metal from the start. Against a very athletic Gary team, West Central would do an incredible job of taking care of the ball early in their first game of the year. It would be the defense, however, that would get things going for West Central, as the Lady Trojans’ defense would force eight turnovers in the first eight minutes, while only committing one turnover themselves. 5’4 Senior Tori Culp would provide explosive plays on both ends of the floor as she would lead the team in scoring as well as steals, in helping lead her team to a non-conference victory. Culp led the Lady Trojans with twenty-two points to go along with twelve steals in the victory, balancing her scoring with eleven points in each half, while logging twelve steals as well.

The game started out at a frantic pace, with both teams struggling to take control, as the ball was reluctant to drop through the hoop. The Lady Trojans would outscore the Cougars 15-8 in the first quarter, with Culp and fellow Senior Crisney Shepperd handling the bulk of the scoring. The duo would continue to gain momentum as the first half wore along, consistently knocking down shots both inside and out, combining for twenty-two of the team’s twenty-four first half points, balancing out their scoring with eleven apiece. The momentum would gradually pick up in favor of the Lady Trojans, mainly due to their smothering, multifaceted defense that would change from a man-to-man, to a trapping zone, to a basic quarter court 2-3. The defensive strategy would keep the Cougars off balance, as they would turn the ball over fourteen times in the first half. When the horn sounded at the end of the second quarter, the Lady Trojans found themselves with a ten point lead, 24-14.

The second half would continue, much the same way that the first half played out. The Trojans’ defense would continue to keep the Cougars off balance, forcing another fifteen turnovers in the final two quarters. From a scoring standpoint in the second half, it would be Tori Culp who would continue to consistently put the ball through the hoop. While Culp and Shepperd would shoulder the bulk of the scoring responsibility, the Lady Trojans also received significant minutes from Olivia and Brooklynn Mellon, along with Emily Pilarski and Emma Nielsen, who would all score two points apiece, but would also account for twenty-one rebounds and five steals collectively.

“First quarter we were fresh”, West Central Head Coach Tyson Mellon said following the win. “It looked like what we had worked on in practice and that’s all you can ask for. It kind of went down hill after that” Mellon said with a chuckle. “This was a good start (for us). I thought Emma’s (Nielsen) first game back, having that point guard again, I though she did well for her first game. Crisney (Shepperd) had a lot of opportunities to score tonight, she was in the right spot and that’s all we can ask at this point”.

The Starke County Co-Op Play of the Game on WKVI came in the second quarter, when Olivia Mellon scored with 3:55 minutes remaining, giving the Lady Trojans their first double-digit lead of the game, that helped boost the Lady Trojans’ confidence against an extremely athletic Gary 21st Century team.

The Ashley Derrickson/Five Star Player of the game on WKVI went to West Central Senior Tori Culp, who scored a game-high twenty-two points, including four of six at the free throw line, while logging twelve steals, and three rebounds.

The Lady Trojans will be back in action on November 23rd, when they play host to the LaCrosse Lady Tigers.

Game Statistics

Scoring

West Central(46): Tori Culp-22, Crisney Shepperd-16, Olivia Mellon-2, Brooklynn Mellon-2, Emily Pilarski-2, Emma Nielsen-2

Gary(33): Jameice Peavy-2, Angel Johnson-2, Saraiyah Smith-4, Jalayah Harris-4, Terayah Lee-6, Sydn’e Duncan-4, Denise Sandidge-2, Kayla Bryson-7

Free Throws

West Central: 12-33 36%

Gary: 5-14 35%

Rebounding

Gary(42): Jameice Peavy-2, Jalayah Harris-15, Terayah Lee-5, Angel Johnson-3, Sydn’e Duncan-9, Kayla Bryson-7

West Central(36): Tori Culp-3, Crisney Shepperd-12, Olivia Mellon-4, Brooklynn Mellon-4, Emily Pilarski-7, Emma Nielsen-6

Steals

West Central(20): Tori Culp-12, Crisney Shepperd-3, Olivia Mellon-3, Emily Pilarski-1, Emma Nielsen-1

Gary(7): Jalayah Harris-3, Terayah Lee-1, Angel Johnson-1, Sydn’e Duncan-2

*Statistical Information In This Article Provided By Kankakee Valley Broadcasting Staff. These Are Not Official Game Statistics*