NEW MADISON – Tri-Village started strong and finished strong in taking down visiting New Bremen for a 69-44 non-conference win on Saturday.
The Patriots got off to another good start using their full-court press to get them off and rolling.
Danika Mann scored 6 points and Emma Printz 5 in the opening frame that gave the PATS a 15-7 lead.
The Patriots’ offense was on track in the second quarter as they ran their half court to perfection, scoring 20 points. Rachel Miller, Allie Downing and Printz all knocked down triples while Mann again did damage inside with 5 points.
While the offense was good the defense showed some cracks as New Bremen had its best offensive production in the quarter with 15 points … but trailed at the half 35-22.
In the third period Tri-Village expanded their lead to 20 points, but the Cardinals didn’t roll over and made a run at the PATS, narrowing the lead down to 10.
That’s when Patriots head coach Brad Gray showed some fire and emotion that elicited a technical foul from the officials.
“We let them claw back into the game,” the Tri-Village girls basketball coach said. “I wasn’t trying to get a technical. I expected it might happen … but I thought after that our kids put it on their shoulders and carried the load, and unlike last year where we let teams back in the game, we pushed through and played with an urgency after that.”
It was just the spark and kick in the pants Tri-Village needed as the Patriots regained their composure and turned up the heat defensively, resulting in some turnovers to help the team get some easy buckets.
Freshman Trisha Porter closed out the quarter strong with a triple and a short jumper to help the PATS regain their double-digit lead, 52-36.
“Porter has come on and changed us as a basketball team, the way she passes the ball and sees the floor. Our kids are still trying to learn how to play with her, but she is making a difference,” Gray said.
It was all Tri-Village in the final stanza as the Patriots outscored New Bremen 17-8 to go on to claim a 69-44 win.
The Patriots were solid on the day going 15-for-17 from the free throw line.
Mann led the way with 19 points including 7-for-9 from the charity stripe. Downing had 18 and Printz 11 for the PATS.
Tri-Village improved to 17-0 overall and will play in a key cross county conference game on Tuesday when the Patriots host the Newton Indians.
Score by quarters:
New Bremen … 07 … 15 … 14 … 08 – 44
Tri-Village ……. 15 … 20 … 17 … 17 – 69
Team scoring:
New Bremen – Puthoff 15, Teakman 2, Thieman 2, Smith 2, Arling 4, Naylor 11, ¬¬Bergman 3, Homan 2 – Totals – 3-14-7/9 – 44
Tri-Village – Miller 8, Printz 11, Porter 9, Downing 18, P. Bietry 4, Mann 19
Totals – 8-15-15/17 – 69
3-pointers:
NB – 3 (Naylor 2, Puthoff)
TV – 8 (Printz 3, Miller 2, Downing 2, Porter 1)
