The St. Gertrude girls’ junior varsity basketball team has likely never been as happy to see a player get into foul trouble as they were in their 45-35 win in Saturday’s game against Trinity Episcopal.
When Titan forward Emily Wilkenson picked up her third and fourth fouls in quick succession near the three-minute mark in the third quarter of the championship game of the Trinity Girls’ Junior Varsity Invitational Basketball Tournament, she already had 12 points and 15 rebounds and had scored all five of Trinity’s third-quarter points.
“She is relentless defensively and on the boards, rebounding. She’s an absolute pleasure to coach. She’s always raring to go which is why she sometimes gets in foul trouble, but she’s definitely the key and our motor,” Trinity coach Laura Weiler said.
Down 25-14 at the half, the Titans turned up the defensive pressure in the second half with a full-court, man-to-man press. They stole the ball six times and created 11 turnovers while holding St. Gertrude’s scoreless for five minutes while Trinity chipped away at the lead.
Wilkinson helped cut the lead to single digits with five minutes left in the third quarter with a steal on the inbounds play in the Titans’ offensive end. She hit the easy layup for a 27-18 margin.
Margaret Via created a jump ball at the other end to give Trinity the ball back. The Titans got it inside to Wilkinson who grabbed an offensive board and drew the foul. She picked up her third and fourth fouls reaching for steals and became the third Trinity player in foul trouble.
“We needed a change, so we went to a full-court, man press and the girls really responded. Unfortunately, we were in foul trouble in the first half with some of our key players and they weren’t able to be out there,” Weiler said.
St. Gertrude’s found their offensive spark late and ended the quarter on a 9-0 run with points from four different contributors.
Trinity went on an 11-4 run to start the fourth quarter and drew within 10, but free throws from St. Gertrude’s Payton Saltz, Katie Measell and Sadie Smith kept the Saints in the driver’s seat.
Saltz led St. Gertrude’s with 16 points, Measell added 11 and seven rebounds and Anne Barrett Mayfield grabbed nine rebounds.
Wilkinson led Trinity with 14 points and 20 rebounds.
The tournament is in its fourth consecutive year.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity and we’re really appreciative to the boosters,” Weiler said. “It spotlights our JV programs and they don’t typically get a lot of attention, so it’s a great opportunity for them to be the ones in the spotlight … and hosting it is certainly a lot of fun.”
On the all-tournament team were Kelly Ross from Pope John Paul the Great; Morgan Schroder from Steward School; Wilkinson and Lauren Brassington from Trinity Episcopal; and Mayfield and Saltz from St. Gertrude High School. Saltz was named tournament most valuable player.
Other tournament scores:
Semifinals
Trinity Episcopal 35, Steward 26
St. Gertrude 46, Pope John Paul the Great 17
Consolation
Steward 38, Pope John Paul the Great 21
Championship
St. Gertrude 45, Trinity Episcopal 35
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement