PREBLE COUNTY — National Trail’s girls’ basketball team added to its winning streak with three wins last week, including a pair of Preble County opponents.
Trail, winners of four straight, got the best of Northridge (65-32), Tri-County North (51-14) and Twin Valley South (51-25).
The Blazers (5-2, 2-1 CCC) started the week with a trip to Northridge on Tuesday, Dec. 11 in a non-conference tilt and came away with the win. After a slow start, Trail was able to pull away. Makena Laird led the way with 18 points with Skyler Ward and Savanna Abner contributing 12 and 13 points respectively.
Against North, Trail played an excellent defensive game to get the win over their guests on Thursday, Dec. 13. The team had nine different players score led by Abner with 12, Evan Byrd with 10 and Laird with eight.
Trail closed out the week with a win at South. Laird led the team with 14 points, followed by Ward with 13. Byrd chipped in nine points to go with her team tying six rebounds.
Trail was scheduled to play at Brookville on Tuesday, Dec. 18 and will play Arcanum on Thursday, Dec. 20.
Eagles drops pair
Eaton fell to visiting Kettering Alter 58-40 on Wednesday, Dec. 12, and suffered a league loss to visiting Monroe, 52-42, on Saturday.
The Eagles, now 3-5 overall and 1-3 in the SWBL Southwestern Division, have now lost three straight.
“On Wednesday we lost to a very physical, fundamental Alter team. They have a championship culture, they are very well-coached and extremely fundamental,” Eaton coach Dave Honhart said. “They hit the boards and pressure the ball very well. Because they get low and in great position on defense, they are able to make a lot of contact without fouling. They jumped on us early and built a 34-16 halftime lead. Although we knew the kind of physicality they would bring, it is impossible to prepare for it until you face it. At halftime we talked about raising our level of intense, physical play, and I was proud of the way our girls responded, matching Alter 24-24 in the second half.”
Bailey Shepherd had 17 points for Eaton. Becca Mowen provided strong leadership and tallied eight points, according to Honhart.
“On Saturday we came out strong against Monroe, racing to a 10-2 lead, including six quick points from Annika Gels, however we ultimately lost 52-42,” the coach said. “We challenged our players to carry over the steps we had taken in the Alter game in terms of learning to play tough, physical basketball and I thought we did that. Our shooting went cold the rest of the first half, but we played good defense to get to halftime tied at 22.”
After taking a quick four point lead on layups by Bailey Shepherd and Annika Gels, Monroe took control of the third quarter and outscored the Eagles 19-2 in the deciding seven minutes of the game.
“Their players hit big shots, and I probably needed to stick with the press and spread playing time out a little better to take advantage of our depth,” Honhart said. “We fought hard in the fourth quarter, trimming their lead to seven points and having the ball with a chance to cut into it about midway through the quarter. As it was, we just needed to make a few more plays.”
Emily Dungan came on strong, scoring 11 points in the quarter. Overall, Dungan led with 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting and Gels had 10 on 5-of-8 shooting.
This week Eaton hits the road face two more strong programs.
They will visit Bellbook (Thursday at 5:30 p.m.) and Franklin (Saturday, 1:15 p.m.), who leads the league.
“We expect to compete very well and hopefully come away with some victories,” Honhart said.
Arrows split, remain unbeaten in SWBL
Despite suffering a 66-51 loss to visiting Arcanum on Tuesday, Preble Shawnee kept pace with Waynesville in the SWBL Buckeye Division with a 42-37 win at Carlisle.
Shawnee, now 4-2 overall, is 3-0 in the league.
The Arrows allowed Arcanum to hit nine 3-pointers, including six in the first quarter to grab control of the game.
Shawnee trailed 23-14 after one and was down 35-24 at the half. The Arrows go as close as eight in the second half but couldn’t overcome the Trojans fast start.
Logan Hollon led the Arrows with 18 point and 11 rebounds. Jenna Lovely tossed in 13 and had seven rebounds and five assists. Brenna Woodard chipped in with eight points.
Against Carlisle, the Arrows were led by Lovely, who tossed in 16 points. She added eight rebounds, five assists and three steals.
Woodard contributed 15 points, four rebounds and three assists.
Hollon led the team with six rebounds.
Shawnee led 10-8 after one and 22-14 at the half. Carlisle cut the Arrows lead to 30-26 after three.
Shawnee was scheduled to play at Miamisburg on Monday, Dec. 17. They will host Milton-Union on Thursday and will visit Middletown Madison on Saturday.
South goes 1-1
Twin Valley South overcame a 16-10 halftime deficit to beat visiting Dixie, 33-24, on Monday, Dec. 10. The Panthers were held scoreless in the first quarter.
Mackenzie Neal led South with 11 points. Taylor Bowers tossed in seven and Taylor Creech contributed six.
On Saturday, South (3-5, 0-3 CCC) fell to National Trail 51-25.
South was scheduled to play Stivers on Monday, Dec. 18 and will visit Tri-County North on Thursday.
North remains winless
The Panthers fell behind National Trail 17-6 after one quarter and never recovered. Sydney Jackson led North with 11 points.
North (0-6, 0-3 CCC) was scheduled to play at Dixie on Monday, Dec. 17 and will host rival TVS on Thursday.
