NTL GIRLS' BASKETBALL: WYALUSING USES BIG THIRD QUARTER TO PULL AWAY FROM TROY (2021-01-14)

BY BOB BAKER
Northern Tier Sports Report
WYALUSUNG – Prior to his team’s season opener here last night Wyalusing coach Rick Lindblad was a little worried his players might be a bit rusty with their shooting against Troy due to a lack of practice time.

They were.

By the start of the third quarter he was hoping they had shaken any rust away.

They had.

The Rams came storming out of the locker room at the break and put together a 24-2 run during the third-quarter, sparking them to a big 60-37 win over the visiting Trojans.

“I expected we would be a little rusty with our shooting” noted Lindblad afterward. “We didn’t get in a lot of shooting time. We just needed to get used to a real game again.”

The Trojans, in only their second game of the season, played a scrappy first half and found themselves trailing just 19-14 at the break. They opened the second half with a Sydney Taylor basket. However, following a Wyalusing bucket in the lane, Botts and Brown took over in combining for nine unanswered point as the Rams built a 30-16 lead.

The run continued with consecutive baskets from Callie Bennett, Hailey Jayne, Botts, Bennett and Brown and just like that Wyalusing led 43-16 with 1:35 left in the stanza. The Rams also picked up the defensive pressure, forcing Troy into 14 second-half turnovers while committing just five themselves.

“We pressured them and got some turnovers,” noted Lindblad. “We started playing our type of basketball and winning the boards. We played to our potential in the second half.”

Wyalusing took a 46-21 lead into the final eight minutes.

Botts paced a balanced Wyalusing attack with a game-high 16 points. Bennett added 15 markers and Brown finished with 11. Jayne chipped in with eight points.

The Rams won the turnover battle as they totaled just 14 for the game – compared to 23 by the Trojans.

“In the first half we didn’t do a great job of taking care of the basketball,” recalled Lindblad as his team had nine mistakes. “We also did a better job winning the boards in the second half.”

Wyalusing controlled the glass with a 34-23 advantage, sparked by eight rebounds by Putnam and six each from Bennett, Brown and Oliva Leichliter.

Troy trailed just 10-8 after the first quarter and by just five at the half before the Rams went on their third-quarter blitz.

Hannah Zimmerman led Troy with 14 points. Rachel Kingsley added 12 points and seven rebounds. Taylor finished with seven points and seven caroms.

Wyalusing (1-0) will host the Northeast Panthers (2-1) in a noon start here on Saturday in what looms to be a key early-season Northern Tier League showdown. The Panthers, after dropping an overtime decision in their season opener to Athens, rebounded for recent wins over Williamson and Canton.

Troy (0-2) will travel to Williamson (1-2) on Saturday as well.

Wyalusing 60, Troy 37

Try      8    6      7    16    -37

Wyl   10    9   27    14    -60

Troy Trojans (37)

Zimmerman 4-4-14; Call 0-0-0; Taylor 3-0-7; Johnson 2-0-4; Kingsley 5-2-12; Matthews 0-0-0; Swan 0-0-0 Lackey 0-0-0. Totals: 14-6-37.

Wyalusing Rams (60)

Bennett 6-0-15; Brown 4-2-11; Jayne 3-0-8; Putnam 2-1-5; Johnson 0-0-0; Botts 7-2-16; Chamberlain 0-0-0; Leichliter 2-1-5. Totals: 24-6-60.