Troy annihilates Mott, 59-30, advances to district final
BY JAKE LOURIM
STUDENT CORRESPONDENT
Waterford Mott only had 19 rebounds in Wednesday’s district semifinal game at Troy. They did give up some offensive boards, but not too much of the blame should be placed on their rebounders.
Troy didn’t miss much, either.
The Colts cruised to a Class A district semifinal victory over Mott on Wednesday, 59-30, after taking a 22-2 lead at the end of the first quarter and receiving scoring from 12 of 13 active players.
“It seemed like we were flat to start the game,” Troy coach Dennis Koch said. “But we disproved that.”
Troy started fast against the Corsairs with a huge first quarter. Junior Karin Moss drained a 3-pointer in the first nine seconds, Liz Siepker added two baskets, and Sabria Cotton poured in a driving layup. Mott had to call its second timeout of the game with 5:24 left, already down 9-0.
Troy hit all of its first four shots, the only blemish being a Siepker traveling violation, and held the rebounding advantage 3-0. Mott missed all of its first four shots with two giveaways.
And so the rout was on.
The Colts have showed for most of their last seven games — six in which they’ve scored 49 points or more—that when they’re on, they’re on. They found an early offensive rhythm and never turned back.
Troy coasted the rest of the night, outscoring the overmatched Corsairs (4-17) in every quarter.
Liz Siepker led the team with 16 points, using her size inside to get some easy baskets and becoming a commanding post presence with five rebounds and five blocked shots.
“My teammates got me the ball tonight,” said Siepker. “We spread out our offense, and I was able to post up.”
“We were unselfish offensively,” added Koch.
Troy held a 38-19 advantage on the boards against the smaller Mott team.
“We were tougher,” Koch said simply.
Koch emptied out the bench in the fourth quarter — 12 players scored, including junior varsity call-up Kim Christie, who tacked on a free throw with two minutes left.
Moss used her quickness to record three rebounds, three assists, and four steals, frequently taking loose balls into transition and passing them off for easy buckets. Cotton joined in the transition act with 11 points before the break, and senior Erin Farley came off the bench to pour on five rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
In all, Troy had assists on 14 of 23 field goals and forced 21 turnovers. Eight of the takeaways came in the first quarter, when quick, long players such as Moss, Siepker, and freshman Sydney Heath jumped in passing lanes and harassed Mott with an aggressive man-to-man defense.
“We just played good, hard ‘D’”,” said Koch.
Troy (14-8) will now advance to the district final back at Troy on Friday night at 7 p.m. The Colts will take on Auburn Hills Avondale, who beat Pontiac 59-39 in the nightcap Wednesday night.
“We’ve just got to prepare our scouting report and come to practice mentally ready,” said Koch.
Avondale romped Athens 67-41 Monday night. The Yellow Jackets finished 18-2 in the regular season and won the OAA White Division.
Category: Auburn Hills Avondale, Prep Wraps, Troy
