FAIRLAND -- After the rarest of rare losses to Morristown on Nov. 23, the Class 2A, No. 16 Triton Central sat 2-3 for the first time in Bryan Graham’s 15 seasons as head coach.

Roster changes and illness had the Tigers struggling.

A win over Monrovia six days later jumpstarted what is now a six-game win streak after Tuesday’s 64-25 dismantling of Indianapolis Scecina that clinched the program no worse than a share of the Indiana Crossroads Conference championship – its fifth straight.

“As an old coach, 24 years now through multiple sports, sometimes things don’t always go the way you think they are going to go,” said Graham, who secured career win No. 289 Tuesday. “This team, the camaraderie and the way they have morphed together both on and off the court is amazing.

“People like Kennedy Brown and Hailey Harris are a huge part of that, with how hard they work, how much they study the game, how they do the little details and they stay within themselves. You can really see as the year has gone on, we’ve gotten better and better.”

Brown, a five-foot, six-inch junior moved into the starting lineup after senior guard Jenna Cox left the program. Brown was part of a defensive effort Tuesday that limited Scecina leading scorer Abby Moore (17 ppg) to just two free throws.

Harris, a 5-8 junior, is now a key part of the rotation off the bench. She had five points, one rebound and one steal against the Crusaders (6-5, 1-3 ICC).

Neither have to be stars on a roster that has scorers in Lizzie Graham, Brooklyn Bailey and Maryrose Felling. That trio combined for 49 points Tuesday as the Tigers made quick work of Scecina.

Graham, an IU South Bend commit, hit her first three 3-point attempts in the first quarter and Bailey dominated in the low post with eight points and three rebounds in the opening eight minutes.

Triton Central (8-3, 6-0 ICC) led 20-8 after one quarter and 37-16 at halftime.

Felling made eight of 16 shots to finish with a team-high 18 points. Graham and Bailey – both 6 of 12 from the field – finished with 16 and 15 points, respectively. Bailey had a team-high eight rebounds.

Hallie Schweitzer had five points, seven rebounds and three assists.

Triton Central shot 45% from the field and 42% from the arc.

Abbey McCoy led Scecina with 11 points and eight rebounds. The Crusaders shot 25% from the field and missed all 12 3-point attempts.

Morristown ended a 30-game losing streak to Triton Central earlier this season but may have provided a wake-up call to the perennial top-10 program in Class 2A.

“The biggest thing that came out of the Morristown game was our urgency. We had to get a little bit more urgency because teams know we can score the ball when we’re on,” said Graham, who went on to say there were defensive adjustments made to strengthen a defense that allowed on average 57 ppg in the opening three games.

“At one point in the season, which we have never given up so many points, we were giving up an average of 55 points. I told the girls if we get that under 40 (ppg) we will be really good again. Right now, we’re at 39 ppg.”

Now 8-3, the Tigers are allowing 38.1 ppg.

Triton Central now needs to be challenged. The six-game win streak has come over six opponents with a combined 21 wins. There are tougher games ahead of a rematch with Morristown in the Shelby County Tournament on Jan. 5.

The Tigers are scheduled to play Thursday at Hauser (8-4), but an inclement weather forecast and a water pipe burst at the Hope school leave the game in doubt.

Triton Central will again host its two-day holiday tournament on Dec. 27-28. The Tigers open the event on Dec. 27 at 9 a.m. against Salem (1-11).

The other first-round games include Northeastern (9-4) vs. Jac-Cen-Del (6-6); Southport (6-5) vs. Heritage Christian (8-3); and Lawrenceburg (7-3) vs. Bloomington North (8-4).

“It was nice to get that rolling aspect back but I think having a difficult quarter and difficult possessions never hurts a team when you are only halfway through the year,” said Graham of facing tougher opponents ahead.

Triton Central 64, Indianapolis Scecina 25

SC – Moore 0-8 2-2 2, M. Welborn 0-2 0-0 0, Smith 1-3 0-0 2, A. Welborn 1-9 0-2 2, McCoy 5-8 1-1 11, Gascon 0-2 0-0 0, Navarra 1-4 0-0 2, Wright 0-1 2-2 2, Potts 2-3 0-0 4, Lockhart 0-0 0-0 0, I. Comley 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 10-40 5-7 25.

TC – Schweitzer 2-6 0-0 5, Graham 6-12 0-0 16, Brown 0-0 0-0 0, Felling 8-16 0-0 18, Bailey 6-12 3-5 15, Harris 1-4 2-2 5, Ross 1-3 1-2 3, Trimmer 1-2 0-0 2, Spall 0-0 0-0 0, Allen 0-0 0-0 0, Firebaugh 0-0 0-0 0, Collins 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 25-56 6-9 64.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

SC (6-5)    8    8    2    7  --  25

TC (8-3)  20  17  13  14  --  64

Three-point field goals: SC 0-12 (Moore 0-5, Smith 0-1, McCoy 0-1, Gascon 0-2, Navarra 0-2, Potts 0-1), TC 8-18 (Schweitzer 1-2, Graham 4-6, Felling 2-8, Harris 1-2, Collins 0-1). Rebounds: SC 21 (Moore 2, M. Welborn 2, A. Welborn 3, McCoy 8, Gascon 1, Navarra 2, Wright 1, Potts 1, Lockhart 1), TC 33 (Schweitzer 7, Graham 3, Brown 4, Felling 4, Bailey 8, Harris 1, Ross 4, Trimmer 2). Assists: SC 7 (Moore 2, M. Welborn 1, Smith 2, Gascon 2), SC 11 (Schweitzer 3, Brown 2, Felling 1, Bailey 3, Ross 1, Spall 1). Steals: SC 2 (Moore 2), TC 6 (Schweitzer 1, Brown 1, Felling 2, Bailey 1, Harris 1). Blocks: SC 5 (Moore 2, M. Welborn 1, McCoy 2), TC 1 (Bailey 1). Total fouls: SC 8, TC 5. Turnovers: SC 14, TC 7.

JV

Triton Central 44, Scecina 20

SC – H. Comley 8, Lathrop 4, Thomas 3, Potts 3, Erdosy 2.

TC – Firebaugh 10, Trimmer 8, Allen 8, Collins 8, Ball 4, Coen 4, Davis 2.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

SC    6    3    7    4  --  20

TC    7    9  12  16  --  44

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