Utilizing 11 total players in the game, the Trinity Lutheran girls basketball team opened its season with a 74-39 blowout against Indianapolis Lutheran on Monday at the Bollinger Athletic Complex.
In their first three possessions, the Saints didn’t miss a field goal as they took a 7-2 lead over Trinity two minutes into the first quarter.
A steal by Cougars junior Whitney Rogers turned into a layup forcing a Saints timeout with 5:52 on the clock.
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The Cougars then went on a 15-2 run, capped by a 3-pointer by sophomore Maddie Roark at the buzzer, to go up 19-9 after eight minutes of play.
In the opening quarter, the Cougars played fast possessions and forced 11 Saints turnovers.
Roark opened the second quarter with another 3-pointers and added a pair of free throws at the 5:21-mark to give the Cougars a 24-13 advantage.
By 5:17 in the second quarter, the Cougars had played 11 different players.
The Cougars outscored the Saints 12-10 before intermission to put them up 31-19.
A pair of baskets by Cougars sophomore Piper Acton, and another by Hackman, extended the lead to 37-19 to start the third.
Roark hit back-to-back threes at 2:24 to put the Cougars up 49-41.
A 3-pointer from Rogers opened the fourth quarter, and the Cougars would score 25 points in the final period while giving up 11 to the visitors.
Roark led the Cougars with 23 points, Rogers chipped-in 14 and Hackman managed 12.
Cougars coach Mike Lang said that Rogers is capable of putting up those type of points for the Cougars moving forward.
“I see (Rogers) everyday in practice, we know that’s what she’s capable of,” Lang said. Whitney just needs to have confidence. We put the ball in her hands as a sophomore last year at a point and that paid off tonight.”
On the boards, Rogers and Roark each had six rebounds while sophomore Jodi Goecker pulled down five.
The Cougars fed Hackman in the paint early and often.
“Sometimes, Abby holds herself back,” Lang said. “She doesn’t realize the type of player she can become and is. Every day in practice we’re striving to extend her game a little bit. She had some good post-up moves and did a wonderful job in the second half.”
Lang said he wants to continue pushing the pace of games.
“We know that we’re going to make mistakes playing at a high tempo sometimes, but that’s what we’re doing to the other teams,” he said. “We’re putting them in bad situations and trying to get easy baskets out of it. If we can get 80 to 85 possessions a game then we’re pushing the ball pretty well.
“We scored a lot of points, but we’re still out of shape for the speed we want to play,” Lang said. “We got careless in the first half with the basketball, but we corrected it at halftime. We took care of the ball and finally hit the open shots. Overall, I’m proud of them.”
The Cougars (1-0) will host Hauser on Saturday.