Class 2A, No. 12 Triton Central needed to get its offense in gear Thursday in the second semifinal game of the Shelby County Tournament. Head coach Bryan Graham turned to senior center Brooklyn Bailey.
Bailey (photo) scored twice in the low post to start the third quarter and sparked the Tigers to a 14-3 run against Waldron, a team it defeated by 46 points on Dec. 1.
Down 34-18, the Mohawks would not give in, closing the quarter with a 12-4 run to get within eight.
Bailey scored five of Triton Central’s first 10 points of the fourth quarter and the Tigers hit just enough free throws to secure a 53-43 victory and a berth in Saturday’s county tournament championship game against Morristown.
“It doesn’t matter what the records are or how many you’ve won by or what players you have. The county tourney is just a little bit different,” said Graham, who has won 12 county tournament titles in his 15 previous seasons. “We’ve been very blessed for a lot of years to be very successful in this tournament. It’s hard to get kids who always have the (Victory Bell) and the (county tourney) trophy to understand that the people that don’t always have it, how much more it means to them. … It means more to people that don’t have something and, hopefully, when our girls look back and graduate they see what coach is talking about.
“Tonight, that was a great example. It doesn’t matter what the score was the first time (against Waldron). It doesn’t matter what the records are. It matters about situational basketball and if someone wants something they don’t have, they are going to play well.”
Triton Central senior Lucy Spall (13) puts up a shot from close range Thursday in the Tigers' Shelby County Tournament semifinal game against Waldron.
Bailey finished with a game-high 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
“We made that adjustment at halftime and said we are going to feed that ball inside to the post every single time,” said Graham. “We had to get a post touch every single time. I think our first three plays we scripted that everything was going into the post every single time.”
Hailey Harris had 13 points and six rebounds and Maryrose Felling finished with 12 points, four rebounds and three steals.
Freshman point guard Quinn King had six points, seven rebounds and eight assists.
“She plays such a vital role for us,” said Graham. “Not only did she have the ball in her hands but she was trying to get the ball to Felling, trying to get the ball to Brooklyn. And then she is trying to concentrate on not turning the ball over and getting the ball where it needs to go. And hit open shots at the same time.
“She has a lot on her plate for being a freshman at 14 years old and she has done outstanding. She has grown every single game. By this time next year, we will talk about how much better she is then.”
Waldron's Grace Fischer (25) battles for control of the basketball with Triton Central's Hailey Harris (right) Thursday at Southwestern.
A low-scoring first quarter ended with Waldron’s Alyssa Benson hitting a baseline 12-foot jumper for a 7-6 lead.
The Mohawks grew the lead to 12-8 in the second quarter on a Benson 3-pointer and an Alivia Fischer rebound and score.
Triton Central scored the next seven points, let its defense go to work and never trailed again.
Freshman Grace Fischer led Waldron with 15 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals in her Shelby County Tournament debut.
Benson finished with 10 points, four rebounds and two assists. Emerson Lindsey added nine points.
Steve Bush photos
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