Trinity Lutheran’s Madison Keith, right, gets a jumper off during the Tuesday evening sectional game at Rising Sun.
Greg Jones | For The Tribune
Medora’s Brelee Underwood, right, grabs a rebound during Tuesday’s sectional game at Rising Sun.
Greg Jones | For The Tribune
Medora’s Aaralyn Hackney, right, gets a shot off during Tuesday’s sectional game at Rising Sun.
Greg Jones | For The Tribune
Medora’s Jenna Bowers, left, drives in for a shot during Tuesday’s sectional game at Rising Sun.
Greg Jones | For The Tribune
Medora’s Greer Brown, right, looks to make a pass during Tuesday’s sectional game at Rising Sun.
Greg Jones | For The Tribune
Medora’s Jenna Bowers, right, lobs a shot from behind the arc during Tuesday’s sectional game at Rising Sun.
Greg Jones | For The Tribune
Trinity Lutheran’s Liza Froedge looks to get a shot off during the Tuesday evening sectional game at Rising Sun.
Greg Jones | For The Tribune
Trinity Lutheran’s Liza Froedge looks to get a shot off during the Tuesday evening sectional game at Rising Sun.
Greg Jones | For The Tribune
Trinity Lutheran’s Bailey Tabeling, left, lifts a shot up during the Tuesday evening sectional game at Rising Sun.
Greg Jones | For The Tribune
Trinity’s Jordan Brewer, left, drives to the key during the Tuesday evening sectional game at Rising Sun.
Greg Jones | For The Tribune
RISING SUN — Trinity Lutheran’s girls basketball team took a big step towards a sectional title on Tuesday night with a 51-38 victory over Shawe Memorial in the opening round of the Class A Rising Sun Sectional.
The Class A No. 4 Cougars defeated Shawe in Tuesday’s first game and advanced to Friday’s semifinal round where Crothersville awaits. The Tigers received an opening-round bye.
Host Rising Sun defeated Medora, 62-19, in Tuesday’s second game. The Shiners (11-11) earned a semifinal berth and will take on West Washington (7-14) on Friday.
For Trinity (19-6), getting past red-hot Shawe (16-6) was the first task in its mission to win a fourth straight sectional crown.
“Our focus has been on them since Friday,” senior guard Bailey Tabeling said. “We knew they were going to be tough competition. They’ve been playing well throughout the season. We knew if we could get past them, we’d be OK.”
The Cougars started quickly, forcing four turnovers in the game’s first three minutes and jumping to an early 10-0 lead. They built that lead to 23 points in the third quarter before settling for an eventual 13-point victory.
“The key for us going into this game was, we wanted defense to create offense,” Trinity head coach Mike Lang said. “We felt like we knew what they were going to do from film and practice. We did a great job of disrupting their offense.”
The Cougars heeded their coach’s defensive wish, allowing just two points in the first quarter. Shawe didn’t make its first 3-pointer until midway through the second quarter on its 10th attempt from long range.
A 14-3 run in the second quarter, fueled by 10 points from Liza Froedge, swelled Trinity’s lead to 26-7. A 13-3 outburst in the third quarter extended the Cougars’ advantage to 39-16.
Shawe, in the midst of its best season in 15 years, entered Tuesday’s contest with a 10-game win streak and started showing that ability over the game’s final 10 minutes. A 9-0 run helped the Hilltoppers clip the deficit down to 10 in the fourth quarter, but Trinity’s lead was never seriously threatened.
Tabeling led all scorers with 26 points on 11-for-24 shooting. Froedge and Madison Keith each added 10 points for Trinity.
The Cougars now turn their attention to Friday’s semifinal matchup with Crothersville (0-16). Trinity defeated the Tigers, 88-14, in November.
In Tuesday’s second first-round game, Medora claimed an early 3-2 lead when Aaralyn Hackney nailed a 3-pointer, but Rising Sun proved to be too much for the Hornets thereafter.
The Shiners outscored Medora, 22-3, in the first quarter and eased to a 43-point victory.
Medora was led by junior guard Jenna Bowers, who made two 3-pointers and finished with a team-high 12 points. The Hornets’ other seven points were scored by Hackney.
“The girls have improved over the year, we’re just not ready to compete at this level yet,” Medora head coach Roger Bane said. “We’re young. A lot of these kids haven’t played before. We’re just going to have to work hard this summer. We’ll just keep working and keep getting better.”
Box score
At Rising Sun Sectional
Cougars 51, Hilltoppers 38
Shawe Memorial;2;9;14;13;—;38
Trinity Lutheran;12;14;15;10;—;51
Shawe Memorial (16-6): Audrey Barron 6 2-2 15, Ava Turner 4 0-0 12, Hunter Mote 3 0-2 6, Allison Knoebel 2 1-2 5, Yolett Perez 0 0-0 0, Totals 15 3-6 38.
Trinity Lutheran (19-6): Bailey Tabeling 11 2-2 26, Liza Froedge 4 1-1 10, Madison Keith 4 2-2 10, Jordan Brewer 1 1-2 3, Laura Roeder 1 0-0 2, Morgan Brewer 0 0-0 0, Marci Leinart 0 0-0 0, Madelyn Adams 0 0-0 0, Totals 21 6-7 51.
3-point goals: Shawe 5 (Turner 4, Barron), Trinity 3 (Tabeling 2, Froedge).
Rebounds: Shawe 22 (Turner 6), Trinity 36 (Keith 9).
Turnovers: Shawe 15, Trinity 13.
Fouls: Shawe 11, Trinity 10.
Shiners 62, Hornets 19
Rising Sun;22;12;17;11;—;62
Medora;3;6;5;5;—;19
Rising Sun (11-11): Alyssa Simpson 7 1-2 15, Baylee Morris 5 2-4 12, Tamryn Miller 5 0-0 10, Kieran Groover 4 0-2 8, Hillary Lambert 3 0-0 6, Janna Peelman 2 0-0 5, Nora Powell 2 0-0 4, Ellie Ohlmansiek 1 0-0 2, Totals 29 3-10 62.
Medora (4-15): Jenna Bowers 3 4-6 12, Aaralyn Hackney 3 0-0 7, Peyton Spence 0 0-0 0, Brelee Underwood 0 0-0 0, Madison Reese 0 0-0 0, Isabelle Spence 0 0-0 0, Greer Brown 0 0-0 0, Heavenlee Brown 0 0-0 0, Totals 6 4-6 19.
3-point goals: Rising Sun 1 (Peelman), Medora 3 (Bowers 2, Hackney).