MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Maybe to some spectators, Trinity’s season opener Wednesday night couldn’t have gone better as it easily cruised over a young Notre Dame squad 61-13 for its first win in Class AA.
Trinity (1-0) was able to jump out to a huge 20-0 lead in the first behind plenty of fast-break opportunities, as the Irish (0-1) turned the ball over on every possession up to the 4:30 mark. Trinity had nine points on the Irish when senior Jaclyn Smith picked up her first points of the season, draining a 3 to give the Warriors another boost, closing out the quarter up more than 20 on the Irish.
Still, even as the Warriors held a 25-1 lead halfway through the second quarter, coach Mike Baldy was talking to his team in the huddle as if the game hung in the balance.
“It certainly could be better,” Baldy said. “There are just some fundamental things missing. When we had some of the younger girls in toward the end of the halves, really not doing a great job of catching, ripping and facing up with the ball. Not doing wrap-around passes. But those things will come. They’re freshmen playing in their first minutes of high school history. They’ve got long careers ahead of them.”
His starters were resting up and his young substitutes had plenty of rust to shake off. So, with no production from his freshmen, he sent the starting five back in to close out the half. In the final two minutes of the half, junior Olivia Austin was able to end the scoring drought for Trinity and the Warriors jumped ahead to a 31-5 lead at the half.
“We deny the baseline drop step and we weren’t doing it tonight,” Baldy said. “We were trying to get a little slap-happy and steal the ball from the ball handlers and that’s not particularly our defense — we’re more Bob Knight style where we want to contain the ball and force it in to help, and then have them dribble it off their feet or force one bad shot per possession. I didn’t think we were doing that in the second quarter. We were just trying to prey on them and reach and reach, and that’s not our style of defense.”
Following the break, Trinity’s starting crew maintained their strong defense, pick-pocketing Irish guards or breaking up passes at every chance to take a big 47-9 lead at the end of three. Not much changed in the final stanza.
“I thought we did a much better job in the second half playing low in defense,” Baldy said. “I don’t have a lot to pick on in the second half.”
There were many story points in the Warriors’ win. Smith led the team in scoring, much like she did in multiple games last season, and was tough on defense leading TCS in steals (4).
“It feels good, I”m really happy about the season,” Smith said. “We have a big team, which is nice. Last year, we didn’t have that many so it’s nice to come out and get a breather. It didn’t feel like a double-A game because we’ve played Notre Dame every year but I think as we get further down the season when we face Frankfort and Chapmanville, that’s going to be really different, but I’m glad we kept the energy for the night. We played our game which was really special.”
One of Smith’s goals this season is to join the 1,000-point club, and while she’s on the cusp of doing so, a shortened season could put that in jeopardy. That reality was more clear Wednesday, which doubled as Smith’s Senior Night.
Even as the game played out, her senior banner hung next to those who have joined the famed club – Reagan Sharp (1,693 points, class of 2019) and Emily Saurborn (1,247, Ccass of 2018) – and two girls she’s played with over her four years of varsity ball. Currently, she’s 391 points away from hitting the mark, and although she’s down four regular season games, she has faith that she’ll accomplish her goal.
“I had [the points] last year, and we’re only four games [back],” she said. “I know we have the potential to go farther than we did last year. It would be really special. I can take my time this year and take better shots because I have a more skilled team surrounding me.”
Even for Notre Dame, there was a story to tell even in defeat. The Irish, mostly new players, were able to hang in there and never got down on themselves. There were moments of frustration, yes, but there were also smiles, laughing and plenty of cheering from the visiting fans. At the final buzzer, the Irish had solidified a true team when just months ago, the idea of fielding a team seemed far-fetched. But first-year coach Julia Manley, an NDHS graduate, persevered. Further, Manley is just 21 years old and a junior at WVU is believed to be the youngest coach in West Virginia history.
And although the Warriors were the victors in this, it wasn’t too long ago Baldy was sitting with students at lunch trying to get them to join the team.
“We have a lot of respect for Notre Dame’s program and I thought they did a great job tonight for having a really young coach and really young, inexperienced team,” Baldy said. “They came prepared and I think they’re doing the right things. They’re going to get back on their feet. We’ve been through times where we weren’t on our feet.
“They went through the halls and talked girls into playing. I’ve been there. My first year of coaching I used to sit and have lunch with the girls and say, ‘Oh, please play, please play.’ Some of those girls by happenstance we talked into playing, Rachel Rosen I know, we talked her into playing because I had lunch with her every day, she becomes an all-state player. So I think Notre Dame has a bright future. I think coach Manley is doing a great job with them and she’ll continue to do a nice job. The people at Notre Dame are great people. They have a lot of support around them, you could tell from their crowd tonight. They’ll be back to where they want to be.”
Trinity continues its first week of games on the road at Madonna on Friday. Tip is set for 7 p.m.
Box Score
NOTRE DAME (0-1)
Zyla Lanham 3 0-0 6; Abigail Lanham 2 0-2 4; Fiona Smith 0 0-2 0; Alexandria Wittt 0 1-3 1; Angelina Wright 1 0-0 2; Totals 6 1-7 13
TRINITY CHRISTIAN (1-0)
Jenna Barnett 4 0-0 8; Kyndell Kisner 1 0-0 2; Ella Lynch 0 0-1 0; Kaylee Wimer 2 0-0 5; Katrina Hyde 1 0-0 2; Jaclyn Smith 3 6-8 13; Ruby Smith-McCrobie 4 1-2 9; Olivia Austin 3 0-0 6; Sofia Pancoast 0 0-2 0; Paige Smith 2 0-0 4; Maggie Mercure 3 1-2 7; Sucora Brown 2 1-1 5. Totals: 25 9-15 61
NDHS 1 4 4 4
TCS 23 8 16 14
3 pointers: NDHS 0; TCS 2 (Smith, Wimer)
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