By Dave Campbell
For The Republic
EDINBURGH — Trinity Lutheran played nearly the perfect opening quarter and rode that momentum to an 82-32 win at Edinburgh on Thursday in girls basketball.
The Cougars, ranked No. 8 in Class A, forced turnovers on the Lancers’ first six possessions, scored 20 of the first 23 points and led 31-12 after the first quarter in an impressive all-around performance.
“Honestly I think we set a new school record for points in a quarter,” said Trinity Lutheran coach Mike Lang. “I was really worried about the girls’ mentality coming in. We got here 45 minutes early and ended up watching the boys team practice. We’ve talked a lot about having road toughness, and they came out strong. There is nothing I can complain about in the first quarter. They ambushed them.”
The Cougars (6-1) used their full-court press to devastating effect in the opening frame. Each of Edinburgh’s first five possessions ended in Trinity steals and on the sixth, the Lancers threw the ball away.
The Cougars made the most of the gifts and scored in a variety of ways. Post players Abby Hackman and Sydney Jaynes dominated the smaller Lancers inside and the Cougars bombed four 3-pointers during the opening stanza. And of course there were plenty of buckets in transition off steals thanks to 13 Edinburgh turnovers.
Trinity led 31-12 after the first quarter and although the Cougars cooled considerably in the second, they still led 41-19 at the half. Another big quarter in the third and a near shutout in the fourth turned the game into a rout.
In the end, Edinburgh turned the ball over 36 times to just 10 by Trinity. The visiting Cougars also put four players in double figures, led by senior guard Piper Acton, who had 20 points.
“Sydney (Jaynes) and Piper (Acton) have really stepped up their games and starting hitting some threes but honestly everything starts with Savannah Harweger on defense,” Lang said. “She gets her hands on so many loose balls and we’re getting some easy steals out of it. With her and Jodi (Goeecker) at the top of the press, then Sidney and Piper in there with length, it’s kind of fun to sit there and watch them do what they do.”
Abby Hackman had 19 points, while Jaynes scored 16 and Harweger had 11 to lead Trinity. Destiney Ramey led Edinburgh with 13 points.
