By Drew Terhall

DailyAdvocate.com

NEW MADISON — The Lady Patriots start the season off with a big victory over Chaminade Julienne on Nov. 18. It was the first game played at the new Patriot Activity Center.

Head coach Brad Gray said the team getting used to playing on their new court. They haven’t had a lot of practice time on it, but seemed to get more used to the court as the game went on.

“It’s not an easy place to score the ball right now. It’s a complete different environment than our other gym. Eventually, it’s going to be a major home court advantage for us. But it’s not quite there yet, our kids are still getting adapted to it,” Gray said.

After the first quarter, the Lady Patriots were up 18-2. The defense took over in the first quarter. Once they were able to get a turnover, Tri-Village pushed the ball down the court to get easy transition buckets.

At halftime, it was a 32-10 Lady Patriot lead. Seniors Rylee Sagester and Morgan Hunt led the way for the Patriots.

Eventually, more players got involved on offense and started to get more into a rhythm. Gray said he wants his team to dictate a fast pace.

There was a challenge of running the floor on a bigger court. Gray said it’s going to take time to get familiar with the bigger court size. Once they do, they could be even better in transition.

“Getting used to that is going to be a process. But once we do, the way our kids run the floor, it’s going to be advantageous for us down the road,” Gray said.

As the second half went on, Tri-Village found more success in their half-court offense. They were able to get open cuts towards the basket to get easy shots up.

After the third quarter, the Lady Patriots were up 50-22. After three quarters, Sagester had 22 points herself.

Gray said Sagester has improved as a player. She’s more than just a three point shooter.

“She has really added more than just the catch and shoot three point shot to her game. She drives it well, she’s become more of a floor general for us, learned how to get other kids really involved with it and a very unselfish kid who makes the right play almost every time down the floor,” Gray said.

Sagester ended the game with 30 points. Hunt was second with 15 points. Senior Torie Richards was the other Lady Patriot to score double-digit points with 11.

Tri-Village will play another home game tomorrow, Nov. 19, against Fairbanks High School. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. as the Lady Patriots try to go 2-0 to start the season.

Contact Daily Advocate sports editor Drew Terhall at [email protected]