Lady Knights battle at Benton Classic

By Anthony Jones

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Christmas week brought a new set of wins for Lady Knights basketball.

Their latest stretch of action began on Dec. 23, when they hosted the Mascoutah Indians. Triad entered that bout with a 10-2 record, while Mascoutah stood at 2-11.

Behind eight points from Savanna Hildebrand, the Lady Knights pulled ahead 16-8 after the opening quarter of play. Triad extended their lead to 27-14 by halftime.

While the hosts built an early lead, Coach Josh Hunt saw room for improvement after the first half, “We just didn’t shoot it well. We were 2/14 from three and I don’t know what we were from the free throw line, but it wasn’t good. I told the girls ‘We’re up 13 right now, we’ve shot awfully but as long as we shoot it like we’re capable of, we’re going to be just fine.’”

The Lady Knights responded with improved shooting in the second half, including making six of 10 shots from beyond the arc. Their sharper shooting led to a 31 point half and a 58-26 victory.

Hildebrand finished with 21 points to lead Triad’s offense in the win. Makenna Witham and Erica Boyce also reached double digits with respective totals of 14 and 12.

While the Lady Knights racked up the points, they also found themselves stacking up fouls.

“We play with a lot of physicality and that’s the way we want to play. That being said, I feel like it’s musical chairs sometimes on substitutions because we’re always in foul trouble. But, the girls do a good job playing with foul trouble once they realize the position we’re in,” Coach Hunt addressed the foul trouble his squad has frequently found itself in this season.

Triad continued their week on Dec. 27 with first round action at the Benton Christmas Classic. The hosting Rangerettes, who entered with a 4-8 record, served as their opening opponent.

A 7-0 start for the Lady Knights kicked off a hot first quarter, which saw them rush ahead 24-10. Hildebrand and Boyce each tallied nine points in the first period.

The second quarter led to a tightened score, with Benton slashing their deficit to 33-26. All nine of Triad’s points in the second quarter came from Witham.

A 20 point third quarter for Triad helped reinforce their lead, as they drove ahead 53-35. The Lady Knight lead was never cut to less than 15 for the remainder of the night enroute to a 64-44 final.

With 23 points, Hildebrand paced all scorers. Triad’s offense was also bolstered by 18 from Witham and 16 by Boyce.

With the win, Triad advanced to the quarterfinal round on Dec. 28.

Their second round opponent, Carlyle, entered with a 10-1 record. Their impressive record included a previous win over Triad, which came by a 56-35 margin on Nov. 21.

Their second matchup proved more competitive, starting with a 10-9 Triad lead after the first quarter.

By intermission, the Lady Knights pushed the gap to 20-15. Witham led their offense at the break with nine points.

The third quarter featured three lead changes, ultimately leading to a 31-26 Indian lead. Triad pulled as close as 36-32 midway through the fourth on an Addy Gentemann basket before ultimately falling 42-36.

With 19 points, Witham led Triad’s offense in the loss. No other Lady Knight scored more than four in the loss.

Triad’s second game of the day saw them square off with Olney in a quick turnaround.

After the first half, the Lady Knights found themselves in control with a 28-15 edge. Triad led for the remainder of the affair to score a 52-42 victory.

Witham delivered 21 points to bring her tournament total to 58 points. Hildebrand added 14 more in the Lady Knight victory.

Both Hildebrand and Witham surpassed 900 career points in the win, reaching respective totals of 911 and 907.

With the win, Triad earned a spot in the fifth-place game against Mt. Zion on Dec. 29.