Girard sweeps Fort Scott at home

BY NICK CORN

Last year Girard traveled to Fort Scott and left licking their wounds. The girls were pummeled by 33 points, and the boys were thrashed by 37 points. This year, it would be Fort Scott who went back home with two losses.

The Lady Trojans started off their game with suffocating defense that caused many miscues from a rattled Lady Tigers team. Coach Herlocker came out in a box-and-one defense, keying in on Ashley Cook of Fort Scott, and the Lady Trojans executed the game-plan almost to perfection, as the junior Cook would score only five points  in the game. After one quarter of play, Girard held a 15-11 lead in large part to Sydnee Crain’s eight points. In the second quarter, Girard was hanging on to a one-point lead when Megan Gray drained a trey and was fouled, sinking the free throw. The four-point play propelled the Lady Trojans to a 12-2 run to finish out the half, and entering the break Girard was leading 31-20.

While Fort Scott made several runs in the third quarter, it seemed every time the momentum was starting to swing in their favor, Girard would answer back, keeping the game out of reach. Crain was back in first-quarter form, torching the Lady Tiger defense for eight more points. After sitting most of the game due to foul trouble, Calea Augustine entered the fourth quarter with a killer instinct, scoring nine points, seven of which came from the free throw line. Girard went on to win 63-46. Crain led all scorers with 20 points, while Ashley Ray scored 14, and Augustin added 13. The victory pushed the Lady Trojans’ record to an even 4-4 record.

Trojans Remain Undefeated
The Trojan boys fell behind 5-0 early in their own game, but shut out Fort Scott the rest of the first quarter while scoring 13 points. With the five point deficit, Laike Damman nailed a three and a free throw, and a Drew Davied two-point basket gave the Trojans a 6-5 lead. They wouldn’t trail again in the game.

Davied went on to score 10 points in the second quarter, helping Girard to a 28-19 lead at halftime. In the third quarter, Eric Wilson gave Girard a ten-point lead when he nailed a three from the wing, but Fort Scott started chipping away at the lead until it was down to just a three-point game. Quickly after, Garrett Bailey hit a two and Wilson sunk another trifecta to swing the momentum back in Girard’s favor. Two baskets from Fort Scott before the end of the quarter made it a 40-36 game in favor of Girard, but it felt more like a tie ball game.

Damman started off the fourth the same way he did the first quarter, hitting an arching shot from downtown that found the bottom of the net, and the GHS student section erupted. Davied then closed out the game with 12 of his team’s final 17 points, including four straight free throws after being fouled and a technical foul being assessed to the Tigers.

It was close, but Girard held on for the 60-50 victory. Davied scored a game-high 26 points, while Damman scored 12 in the game.

Next week, both Girard teams will participate in the Wilson County Tournament.

 

BOX SCORES

LADY TROJANS 63, FORT SCOTT 46

GHS  15     16    16    16      FINAL 63

FHS   11       9      12    14                    46

GIRARD: Crain 20, Ray 14, Augustin 13, Gray 6 Murphy 4, Leslie 3, Herlocker 2 Copenhaver 1

Three-pointers: Gray 1

 

GIRARD TROJANS 60, FORT SCOTT 50

GHS    13    15    12    20     FINAL 60

FHS     5      14    17    14                   50

GIRARD: Davied 26, Damman 12, Wilson 8, Green 6, J. Lindbloom 4, Bailey 2, Hamblin 2

Three-pointers: Damman 3, Wilson 2