Girard sweeps Oswego in a pair of blowouts
BY NICK CORN
Both Girard basketball teams got back into action Tuesday night after a three-week winter break. The Lady Trojans began the night with a 54-30 win before the boys earned a 59-22 victory. Both games saw a running clock in the fourth quarter due to 30-point leads.
Lady Trojans
Without Sydnee Crain in the lineup due to an injury that sidelined her for the night, the Lady Trojans struggled to find their rhythm early in the first quarter, but eight points from Ashley Ray and six from Olivia Hanson helped Girard to a 21-9 lead heading into the second quarter.
Calea Augustin paced an 18-point second quarter with six points of her own. Girard’s defense also tightened in the second quarter, and the Lady Indians could only score two points in the second. Girard held a 39-11 lead at halftime behind 12 points from Ray and 10 from Hanson.
After hitting no three-pointers in the first half, Oswego scored 12 third-quarter points on four treys, but the Lady Trojans’ 15 points gave them a 54-23 lead heading into the final quarter, enabling a running clock for the final eight minutes. Augustin added six in the third, while Hanson and Jacey Murphy added four apiece.
Regardless of being held scoreless in the fourth, the Lady Trojans cruised to a 54-30 victory to improve to 4-1 on the season. Augustin and Ray paced the Lady Trojans with 14 points, and Hanson added 13.
Boys
After a 4-4 tie early in the boys’ game, Girard ended the first quarter on an 11-2 run to take a 16-5 lead at the first buzzer. The Trojans saw five different starters score in the quarter, and Laike Damman paced Girard with 5 points.
Scoring the first 15 points of the second quarter, the Trojans quickly put the game away and were able to put the game on cruise control. Damman scored seven in the quarter, and Junior Lindbloom added six points. Oswego’s only points of the second would be the final two baskets scored in the half, and Girard took a 30-10 lead into the intermission.
An Eric Wilson trey gave the Trojans a 26-point lead early in the third, but the Indians would not lay down and outscored Girard 8-6 down the stretch in the third. Regardless, the Trojans held a 24-point lead heading into the final quarter.
Two baskets from Damman followed by a behind-the-back assist to Eric Wilson quickly gave Girard a 30-point fourth-quarter lead and enabled a running clock. Oswego would score just three fourth-quarter points compared to the Trojans’ 16, and two late treys from Girard reserve Dakota Lopez would propel the Trojans to a 59-22 victory and a 5-0 record.
Damman, with 18 points, was Girard’s only double-digit scorer, but the Trojan scorebook was balanced with eight players scoring.
Girard will host Prairie View on Friday for their first home game of the New Year.
BOX SCORES
Lady Trojans 54, Oswego 30
1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q FINAL
GHS 21 18 15 0 54
OHS 9 2 12 7 30
Girard: Augustin 14, Ray 14, Hanson 13, Murphy 6, Cuthbertson 4, Franklin 3
3-PT FG:
Girard 59, Oswego 21
1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q FINAL
GHS 15 15 13 16 59
OHS 6 4 9 3 22
Girard: Damman 18, J. Lindbloom 8, Wilson 7, Bailey 6, Davied 6, Green 6, Lopez 6, Fisher 2
3-PT FG: Damman 2, Lopez 2, Wilson