| Finesse shooting takes the night off in Twister triumph | By: By KENNETH COKER, Messenger Sports Reporter
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Union City’s Doreal Strayhorn wrestles for the ball against a pair of Lady Tide defenders in Monday’s loss. | | | Union City’s boys will take a win against Trenton however they can get it as evidenced in Monday’s 95-68 victory.
Although not a triumph powered by finesse shooting or stellar ball-handling, the win against the Golden Tide showed that the locals can outlast teams that employ a similar offensive philosophy.
And even though Monday’s 95-68 shellacking was nowhere near the scoring exhibition that UC’s school record 130-point outpouring against Trenton last season was, the victory did put the Twisters into double digits in the win column.
“It wasn’t pretty,” UC boys’ coach Shane Sisco said. “We turned the ball over a lot more than we’d like to and we weren’t as proficient from beyond the arc as I hoped we would be.
“However, our defense was stellar and our overall effort was more than enough to get the job done.”
In the opener, size mattered with Trenton manhandling the locals both on the scoreboard and on the court in a 50-34 decision.
Union City’s girls return to action tonight in Trigg County, Ky., against Heath (Ky.) in the 12 Games of Christmas Tournament. The Twisters return to the hardwood Thursday against Mt. Juliet at the Battle for the State Tournament in Nashville.
Union City 95, Trenton 68 (B)
UC struggled from 3-point range, finishing the evening 7-for-37 during the triumph over the Tide.
However, the Twisters pulled down 24 offensive boards to account for a number of second-chance baskets in the win.
Union City — now an unflawed 10-0 overall, 8-0 in district action — led 17-13 after one with the second quarter a scoring sprint in favor of the locals (32-26) at a breakneck pace.
At intermission, the locals held a 49-39 advantage with both teams needing time to catch their respective breaths.
“We knew that Trenton’s style of play was very similar to ours and we expected them to run up and down the court and try to match us point-by-point,” Sisco said. “We kept them on their toes and forced 31 turnovers, which in the end was one of a few deciding factors.”
During the fast-paced second period, MJ Brown bucketed 15 of his game-high 28 points to lead the UC corps.
In the third frame, Tony Wilkins tossed in nine of his 13 total points and the Tornadoes bettered Trenton 27-15 in the period to take a comfortable 76-54 advantage with three quarters in the books.
The final frame was nothing more than a glorified “B” game with the Twisters coming out on top during the frame 19-14.
Lavan Mosley finished the game with 14 points with B.J. Marshall contributing 10 markers. Ryne Simpson was one point shy of double digits with nine in the triumph.
Robert Yancy was the top performer for the Tide (5-3, 4-3 in district) with 16 points.
Trenton 50, Union City 34 (G)
The Lady Tide’s “Big Three” of Lexi Hamm (6-foot-1), Rakeshia Perry (5-foot-11) and Jenni Lynn Rodamaker (5-foot-9) shook up UC’s gameplan of using three guards and a pair of forwards.
With the larger post players on the floor for Trenton, Lady Twisters’ head coach Jeff Chandler was forced to play at least three of his forwards and many times four of his post players to try and get favorable defensive matchups.
Unfortunately, it was to no avail.
“Physically, we couldn’t match up with them,” Chandler commented after the game. “They were more athletic at every position and they forced us to use some formations that we aren’t accustomed to.
“In the second half, I had to put some players in that are very good offensively but a liability defensively just to try and keep pace with them.”
The lead changed five times in the first period before the Lady Tide took it for the duration. Trenton bested UC 12-10 in the first with a buzzer-beating bankshot shot by Rodamaker making the difference and putting the visitors ahead for good.
Peabody more than doubled UC 15-7 in the second with Union City taking the low-scoring third period 8-6.
The Lady Tide (7-1, 7-0 in district) got back down to business with a 17-9 fourth quarter advantage to seal the victory.
Allison McCullough was the top gun for the Lady Twisters (1-8, 1-7 in district) with 11 points with Doreal Strayhorn adding seven markers in the defeat.
Perry finished with a game-high 17 markers for Trenton with Rodamaker accumulating 11 tallies.
Sports reporter Kenneth Coker can be contacted by e-mail at kcoker@ucmessenger.com. | | | | |
