MORGANTOWN — It was Senior Night high on the hill in Sabraton on Friday evening as the Trinity Christian Warriors hosted the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in a boys and girls doubleheader on the hardwood.
The girls got the night started as the Warriors (4-3) pulled away from the Lady Irish (3-3) in the second half for a well-earned 64-44 victory. The boys followed with a 70-61 win in a physical contest that saw both the Warriors (4-2) and the Irish (3-3) shoot the ball well.
The TCS girls held leads of eight (20-12) and ten (35-25) after the first and second quarters, but ND came out strong in the second half and cut the deficit to as little as six points midway through the period.
The Warriors struggled to put the ball in the basket nearly until the entire third frame but ended the final 90 seconds on a 9-0 run to extend a double-digit lead that they wouldn’t allow the Lady Irish to get close from there.
“We went through the same thing we went through last season with letting a lead slip in the second half,” TCS head coach Mike Baldy said. “So when we called that timeout left with 90 seconds left, we switched to the press and they started getting deflections and coming up with steals. It’s not the scheme of the press, but the hustle and determination that makes it work. Hats off to them for that.”
ND junior Selena Wilson led all scorers with 27 points, including four triples. TCS was led in scoring by senior guard Jenna Barnett with 23 points, while Ella Lynch (14) and Kate Williams (11) also contributed double-figures.
The boys’ matchup was closer than the girls’ throughout the game, but TCS held its lead for nearly the entire 32 minutes and didn’t allow ND to get over the hump when it got the lead down to one possession.
A 21-21 first quarter saw baskets being traded back and forth between the two sides. TCS senior Carter Hartsock scored 13 of his 25 points in the opening frame and 21 of those in the first half. Junior Chayce Adams added 25 points of his own for the Warriors.
Hartsock’s third triple of the first half gave TCS a 33-30 lead with 3:07 to play until halftime and the Warriors only allowed ND to score three points in the final few minutes of the frame to lead 37-33 into the locker room.
TCS continued its momentum out of the break and used it to outscore ND 20-13 in the third quarter. Junior Lucas Kniska scored 13 points off of the bench for the Warriors, including three from beyond the arc. Two of his triples came in a crucial time of the third quarter that helped his team take a double-digit lead into the final eight minutes 57-46.
“The key for us was slowing our offense down a little bit,” TCS boys coach Codey Horton said. “Our transition offense kept us in the lead but we needed to slow down a little. Our transition eventually kicked in and helped us pull away. Carter has gotten so much better with his outside shooting, he and Chayce both did what they needed to tonight. But the big difference was Lucas offensively, his confidence was lacking at the beginning of the season but he is back and really was the reason we won the game.”
The Irish got as close as six points (61-55) in the fourth quarter, but a big three-point play for Adams followed by a pair of free throws for him as well, extended the lead back to 11 and the Warriors wouldn’t look back from there to earn their second straight win.
The TCS girls will enjoy a break over the holidays and will return to action in 2024 on Jan. 2nd against Valley-Wetzel. The TCS boys will enjoy Christmas through the next week before making the short trip to Blacksville for a weekend shootout hosted by Clay-Battelle.
BOX SCORES
GIRLS
Trinity 64, Notre Dame 44
ND 12 13 9 15 – 44
TCS 20 15 14 10 – 64
Notre Dame – Wilson 8 7-10 27 Shaffer 2 1-2 5 Fryer 1 0-0 2 Policano 2 0-0 4 Besten 3 0-0 6
Trinity – Barnett 8 5-6 23 Lynch 5 0-0 14 Williams 5 0-0 11 Moore 1 5-6 7 Blake 2 0-0 4 Deal 1 0-0 3 Fisher 1 0-0 2
3-Pt. Goals – Trinity 8 (Lynch 4 Barnett 2 Williams 1 Deal 1); Notre Dame 4 (Wilson 4)
BOYS
Trinity 70, Notre Dame 61
ND 21 12 13 15 – 61
TCS 21 16 20 13 – 70
Notre Dame – Minnocci 0 4-4 4 Woofter 3 0-0 8 Chandra 5 6-6 16 Urso 2 0-0 6 Helmick 4 3-4 12 Thompson 5 0-0 14
Trinity – Hartsock 11 0-0 25 Adams 9 5-5 25 Lohmann 1 1-2 3 L. Kniska 5 0-0 13 Porta 1 2-2 4
3-Pt. Goals – Notre Dame 9 (Thompson 4 Urso 2 Woofter 2 Helmick 1); Trinity 8 (Kniska 3, Hartsock 3, Adams 2).
