Sports
Women’s Basketball: Belpre Hot From Outside in Win Against Trimble
< < Back toBelpre nailed seven 3-pointers, five from Kelsey Lerch, to down Trimble 52-39.
Similar to Monday’s game against Southern, the Tomcats (0-4, 0-3) found themselves down early, trailing 15-5 after the first quarter, and could not close the gap. Lerch, who led all scorers with 15, was a big factor in the Eagles’ (2-1, 2-1) hot start, making three treys in the first frame.
Trimble was able to keep pace the rest of the way, but Tomcats Head Coach Dave Richards said Belpre’s long-range effectiveness made it hard to make a comeback.
“It seemed like every time we were getting closer, they made a few more,” said Richards. “It seems like they do that every time we play them.”
The Golden Eagles also had scoring help from Allison Flowers and Natalie Perry with nine points each. Emily McKee paced Trimble with 11 points off the bench.
One positive the Tomcats can look at is their improved control of the ball. After turning the ball over 23 times against Southern, Trimble only had 13 while forcing 20. One of the reasons was the impressive play of freshman guard Tia Altier who scored eight points and grabbed eight rebounds.
“Tia can handle the ball very well and did a good job tonight,” said Richards. Altier had been playing some on the junior varsity team, but after her performance Thursday Richards said that might not be the case anymore.
“She played her last JV game tonight. She is going to play a bigger factor on this team.”
Altier’s first game as a full-time varsity player will come Monday when Trimble travels to Wahama, while Belpre looks to get a third win in-a-row when they host Wood County on the same date.