Troy uses long runs to drain West Bloomfield
BY JAKE LOURIM
STUDENT CORRESPONDENT
j.lourim@comcast.net
TROY — With runs of 7-0, 14-0 and 23-2, West Bloomfield was probably wondering if it was involved with a basketball game or math class Monday.
Troy trounced the Lakers, 47-28, after jumping out to a 19-2 lead and continually pouring on large runs on West Bloomfield.
Senior guard Karin Moss started early with an assist to junior Sabria Cotton, igniting a 16-0 run for the second straight game.
The Colts forced 12 turnovers with a stingy full-court press in the first quarter. At the four-minute mark, the Lakers had taken just two shots with five giveaways.
“It starts with Sydney Heath at the top, because she’s just long, she works hard, and she’s able to cause problems,” Troy coach Dennis Koch said, adding senior Katy McCuish, sophomore Rachael Zelmanski and Moss were key factors. “Karin is just quick, and she’s able to get to the ball, get some steals, and then we turn it around.”
“When we use our ability, we’re very quick, and we catch teams off-guard and get a quick lead,” Zelmanski said.
Cotton and McCuish each nailed 3-pointers in the spurt, and Moss, McCuish, and Zelmanski had two points each.
Moss’s triple at the first-quarter buzzer made it 19-2.
“We really pushed the ball and played hard defense and made sure they didn’t have a quick start,” Zelmanski said.
The next 24 minutes were merely a formality.
Moss had 13 points, four rebounds, seven assists, and six steals. Zelmanski added 12 points and six rebounds.
The game was dedicated to cancer awareness, with Koch and assistant coach Jake Lepore wearing sneakers in tribute. At halftime, junior varsity players walked through the stands, collecting cancer donations from fans in the “Miracle Minute.”
“A lot of players on the team have been affected by cancer,” Zelmanski said, adding that she has been several times. “For all the people that can’t be here, it just makes us want to play that much harder.”
“We were happy to play in this game, we were happy to do something for the Coaches v. Cancer,” Koch said. “But the one thing we talked about is the best way to honor all those cancer survivors and those that we’ve lost because of cancer is to play basketball the right way.”
Category: Featured Articles, High School, High School (M-Z), Most Recently Updated Stories, Prep Wraps, Student Columns, Troy, Uncategorized
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