BY CHRIS MANNINGNorthern Tier Sports Report
TOWANDA — Troy took care of business to wrap up their second straight NTL title on Tuesday, beating Towanda 68-27 during NTL girls’ hoops action.
“I’m just very happy for the girls, especially the senior class,” said Troy coach Curtis Miller. “They’ve put so much time into this program, there’s nobody that deserves it more than they do. And then, for the underclassmen, I think that they’re just continuing on the legacy right now. Overall, I’m extremely happy.”
The Trojans overcame a slow start, with Towanda leading 4-3 halfway through the first quarter, and some foul trouble to take a 10-4 advantage into the second.
In the second frame they exploded for 26 points and never looked back.
“It was a bit of a slow start, and I credit a lot of that to Towanda,” said Troy coach Curtis Miller. “They came out ready to play, but our first goal for tonight was to win the first quarter, and we did that. And then I think from there we just took off. I think the girls did a great job of being aggressive on defense. We rebounded well, we pushed the ball in transition, and just found the open girl. Overall, I’m very happy with how we played tonight.”
The Black Knights weren’t able to capitalize on their strong defense in the first four minutes, missing several lay-ups early. Then, once the Troy train got going, they couldn’t stop it.
“I told the kids after the game as simple as I could, it's just not our time,” Towanda coach Rob Gentile said. “We got beat in every facet of the game by a better and much more experienced team. Curtis and Abby had that team very well prepared, and it was obvious from the tip that they were highly motivated to win that game, and they played very, very well. Sometimes you just have to face the fact that they are much further along than we are right now and there is no shame in that. Their experience and their athleticism were just too much for us tonight.”
Four different Trojans hit double figures, led by Giana Renzi’s 14 points - including four 3-balls - while Alyssa Parks added 13 points.
Gloria Andrews netted 12 points - all on 3-pointers - while handing out three assists.
Kailyn Sterling finished with 11 points, six boards, and two steals, with Kyah Renzo adding six points, and six rebounds.
Madelyn Seeley had six points to go with two blocks, while Kendall Allen, Haidyn Watson, and Emma Mickley all scored two points each.
Renzi not only led the team in scoring, but was also played tough defense on Towanda’s Payton Perry, who’d been putting up some big numbers recently. She held the Knight guard to just three points on the night.
“I knew that her shot had been on, and that she’d been playing pretty well in the past week, so I knew I had to chop my feet when she had the ball, and not let her have any open shots,” Renzi said. “It definitely challenged me, and I just love playing defense.”
Renzo helped them get through the early foul trouble with her first half play.
“Kyah has been our spark plug all year,” Miller said. “She’s not the biggest girl on the court, but she comes in, she’s physical, she’ll rebound, she’ll put shots back up. She’s a big reason that we’re cutting the nets down right now.”
Brynn Woodruff had a double-double of 15 points, and 10 boards for Towanda, as Mya Maynard netted seven points, and grabbed six boards.
Reese Sullivan rounded things out with two points.
“Quite honestly, they gave us a gigantic dose of our own medicine tonight and did exactly to us what we like to do to our opponents,” Gentile said. “They took us out of any offensive rhythm, sped us up and forced us to consistently take low percentage shots, and created a ton of forced and unforced mistakes.”
Perry opened the scoring with a lay-up, but the lead was short lived as Andrews hit a 3-ball to put the Trojans up 3-2.
“It felt relief,” Andrews said about seeing her second shot of the night go through the hoop. “I didn’t have any tension, I just felt more relaxed.”
A pair of Maynard free throws saw the Knights take a 1-point lead, but it would be their last of the game.
Troy ended the quarter on a 7-0 run as Andrews hit another 3-pointer, followed by back to back buckets from Sterling for the 6-point lead going into the second frame.
Parks hit a 3-pointer to open the second quarter as Troy extended their lead to nine points.
A Maynard lay-up made it 13-6, but the Trojans came back with a Renzi 3-ball to push their advantage to 10.
A Maynard put back cut the deficit back to single digits, but that’s when Troy went on an 13-0 run.
Sterling led things off with a bucket, followed by Andrews hitting her third 3-ball of the half. Renzo then went on a 4-0 run herself to push the lead to 25-8.
Parks followed with a jumper, then had a runner go down as Troy opened up a 21-point lead.
Woodruff hit a lay-up to get Towanda to double digits, but then Renzi nailed another 3-ball.
A Woodruff 3-point play cut it to 32-13, but back to back buckets from Seeley put Troy up 36-13 at the half.
Troy continued to pass well as they assisted on 10 of their 14 field goals, and all five of their 3-point field goals.
The Trojan defense peaked in the third quarter as they held Towanda without a field goal, out scoring them 17-4.
Renzi led the way with eight points, hitting two more 3-pointers, as Troy extended their lead to 53-17 going into the final frame.
In the fourth six different Troy players scored as they out scored the Knights 15-10 to secure the win. Woodruff had eight points in the frame to lead Towanda.
“We knew what the end result would be if we would win, so we just had to come in like it was a normal game, and prepare ourselves to come in with intensity,” Renzi said.
For Gentile it’s a moment he’s seen coming from his spot as a teacher in the Troy school district.
“Those kids worked really hard for this success for a long time and they deserve every bit of it,” he said. “I am proud of them too. I have a great relationship with quite a few of them, and what they have going on in Troy right now in sports (girls and boys) is just an awesome thing for that school. It really is a great District to be a part of.I feel very fortunate because I get to be a part of 2 great school districts with fantastic kids. It's something I'm really proud of and feel very grateful for.”
Towanda (12-8) will look to bounce back as they head to Wellsboro on Thursday.
“For us as a team, this is just a setback,” Gentile said. “We will not allow it to get in the way of the kind of team we are trying to become. Our kids have grown so much in the past month, and we know what we are capable of and our only focus right now is what's next, and that is a game at Wellsboro. That's what we've done all year and it's not going to change because of a difficult loss. As I said, it's just not our time, yet!”
As for Troy, they have Athens and Jersey Shore left this week, then the NTL Showdown next week, before they get back in the district tournament.
They feel they have some unfinished business there after coming up just short of a state berth last season.
“Our goal is to compete, and not give up or lay-off,” Renzi said. “Our goal is to get further than we did last year, and just not let down.”
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PHOTOS BY CHRIS MANNING
