Troy makes statement in downing rival Athens
BY JAKE LOURIM
STUDENT CORRESPONDENT
TROY — Two weeks ago, the Troy varsity girls basketball team hit the road for a four-game trip that would go a long way toward determining whether the then-undefeated in
the league Colts were for real.
After a rough start to the road trip, everything worked out okay.
Troy split the four games, wrapping them up with a 46-30 beating of Troy Athens on the road Tuesday night.
After a long, grueling, illness-ridden week two weeks ago for Troy, the Colts rebounded to outplay their archrivals in all elements of the game.
“I’m very happy we headed in the right direction tonight,” said Troy coach Dennis
Koch. “We had a couple of good wins, which was very important for the psyche of the girls. We gave a consistent effort — 32 minutes of basketball.”
Karin Moss got Troy going after a defensive struggle early. She grabbed a steal and dished to Rachael Zelmanski for an easy lay-in, then knocked down a 3-pointer herself, putting Troy in a 7-1 lead.
Zelmanski, senior Erin Farley, and sophomore Sabria Cotton each followed with deuces, putting the Colts in control, 13-3.
“We did a fantastic job; we came ready to play, and we executed well,” said
Koch. “Momentum is so key.”
Troy did not turn the ball over at all in the first quarter, shooting nearly 50 percent from inside the 3-point arc.
Athens drew to within five in the second quarter, but Troy capped off the half with an 8-2 run. Moss’s steal, lay-in and 3-pointer as well as Siepker’s triple spearheaded the effort.
“We were excellent on offense,” Koch said. “We were able to get some turnovers,
and we did a good job of scoring in the open court.”
In addition, the Colts held Athens star center Sinclair Russell to no points in the first quarter and only nine in the first half.
“We kept an eye on her, and we kept them from getting good looks on 3-pointers,” said Koch of his defense’s lock-down performance. Athens shot just 23 percent from the floor (10-for-43) and missed all seven of its 3-point attempts.
Troy went inside to start the second half, hitting three early buckets in the paint — two by Siepker — to stymie any possible Athens comeback effort.
“I was very happy with Liz tonight,” said Koch. “She showed a lot of heart and mental toughness.”
Siepker was one of the few Colts who have battled illness and injury in the past two weeks.
Moss’s final 3-pointer made it 38-22 in the last 15 seconds of the third quarter.
Senior Taylor Bass (13 rebounds) and Siepker (eight boards) led Troy’s 42-26 rebounding advantage.
With Troy denying the paint and owning the perimeter, Athens failed to get anything going offensively.
“The girls talk about Troy Athens all the time,” said Koch.
The win over Athens put the Colts in a tie for second place in the OAA Red. Both
Troy rivals had two losses in the league with Southfield-Lathrup in first place.
But the Colts suffered their third league loss at home Thursday against Pontiac, less
than two months after beating the Phoenix on the road 60-50 on Nov. 30.
Athens squeaked by North Farmington in double overtime on Thursday.
Now, Troy will have more than a week off for final exams before hitting the road at
Birmingham Groves and Lake Orion.
(Jake Lourim is a sophomore at Troy High School and part of www.northoaklandsports.com high school internship program. He can be reached at j.lourim@comcast.net)
Category: Prep Wraps, Troy, Troy Athens
