NTL GIRLS' BASKETBALL: TROY COMES UP SHORT LATE AGAINST MT. CARMEL (2025-02-21)

BY CHRIS MANNING
Northern Tier Sports Report
TROY — The Troy girls’ hoops team started fast against Mt. Carmel, but a rough third quarter saw them get into a dog fight in the fourth. They went fighting all the way but the Red Tornadoes came away with the 48-42 win in District IV, Class AAA quarterfinal action Thursday.

“I’m proud of our girls, we left everything on the court,” said Troy coach Curtis Miller. “A lot things just didn’t go our way tonight. What I told them in the locker room is that there’s nothing to hang their heads about, especially these seniors, they’ve accomplished so much in their four years, and I just want to make sure they keep their heads held high.”

In the first half the Trojans led as much as 22-9, with Mt. Carmel closing it to 24-16 at the half.

The Tornadoes would go on to out score them 17-6 in the third quarter to take a 33-30 lead heading into the fourth. 

“I think we had a couple possessions where we lost the ball, and didn’t get a shot up,” said Miller. “I felt like we got a little aggressive on defense - we were fouling quite a bit - and, just overall, Mt. Carmel really picked up their defense, and put us in some tough spots. Our shots just stopped falling for a little while, but our girls continued to battle.”

Mt. Carmel did a good job getting to the line, shooting 18 free throws to Troy’s eight, while making 14 of them.

Kailyn Sterling continued her strong scoring, netting 26 points to lead the Trojans - including all 12 of Troy’s points in the final frame - while Gloria Andrews netted six points.

Alyssa Parks added five, Giana Renzi scored three, and Madalyn Seeley notched two.

Abby Kolkis led Mt. Carmel with 16 points, while Hannah Fourspring chipped in with 12.

Troy led 9-4 after one as they held the Red Tornadoes to just one field goal. Parks, and Andrews had three points each to lead the Trojan attack.

Sterling went off for eight of Troy’s 15 points in the second quarter, with Andrews hitting a 3-ball, while Mt. Carmel used the free throw line to keep pace, going 6-for-9 from the charity stripe to keep the deficit in single digits.

Shots started falling for Mt. Carmel in the third, with Lilly Mowery hitting two 3-balls as they rallied. On the Troy side Sterling scored four of the team’s six points.

Fourspring made it a 5-point Mt. Carmel lead to start the fourth, with Sterling coming back with a put back.

Sterling then hit a driving lay-up for a 35-34 game with 6:05 on the clock.

A Kolkis free throw put Mt. Carmel up 36-34, but another Sterling driving lay-up saw Troy knot things up at 36-all.

With 4:48 left Troy took a 2-point lead on a pair of Sterling free throws, while at the other end Fourspring went 1-of-2 from the charity stripe for a 38-37 score.

Sterling hit her fifth straight shot with 3:55 to go for a 40-37 Trojan lead, and they would force a Mt. Carmel turnover at the other end.

On offense, though, Troy’s string of makes ended with two misses, as the Red Tornadoes got the ball back.

With 3:00 to go Tessa Fourspring had a put back, plus the foul, to knot the game up at 40-all.

The next Troy possession saw Parks hit Sterling for a lay-up to make it 42-40 with 2:35 to play.

“Kailyn really took over when she needed to,” said Miller. “That was a big senior moment for her, and for all her teammates. I really liked to see how our girls had each other’s backs down there down the stretch, but as for Kailyn she can score against anybody inside. I thought she did a really good job of attacking the basket, and finishing at the rim.”

Mt. Carmel would get Troy in the bonus on their next possession with 2:31 on the clock, as Kolkis went 2-for-2 from the line to knot the game up again.

The two teams then traded turnovers, followed by a Troy miss.

Hannah Fourspring got to the line on MCA’s next possession, hitting one to make it 43-42 Tornadoes.

Sterling looked to put Troy back on top, but her shot rimmed out, with a loose ball scrum ending in a jump ball for MCA.

At the other end, though, Ella VanNoy made something happen, tying up the Red Tornado player to get the ball back on a jump ball with 1:01 left.

After Troy ran some clock Parks found an ally to the rim, but after some contact her lay-up attempt rolled out.

Kolkis ended up with the ball, and got to the line, where she hit two freebies for a 3-point lead.

Troy’s tying 3-ball was off, with Kolkis getting the ball again. She hit the first free throw, but missed second; however, she got her own rebound, and put up the runner for the 6-point win.

“I thought Mt. Carmel did a really good job with their on the ball pressure,” Miller said. “It took us out of some of our sets, but I thought our girls did a decent job of handling it. I just would have liked to have seen more shots go through.”

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PHOTOS BY CHRIS MANNING

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