Sierra Dowler
LIBERTY, Ind. – It didn’t take very long to realize who was in control.
The Union County girls basketball team scored the first 11 points on Wednesday as the Patriots went on to defeat Tri 54-46 in a Tri-Eastern Conference contest on Wilber Curry Court.
“At home, you’ve got to come out and play well,” Union County Head Coach Scott Gray said. “We shoot well at home and we’ve been undefeated so far.”
Union County is 7-5 overall and 2-1 in the TEC with six wins in a row at home this season, while Tri is 10-3, 2-1.
When Tri Head Coach Jeff Miller called at timeout with 5:43 left in the opening period, the Titans were in trouble down 9-0 with five turnovers.
“We never got into continuity,” Miller said of his team’s offense. “They came out very aggressive. They smacked us in the mouth and we didn’t react well.”
“This is the third straight game, Randolph Southern, Shenandoah and this one, we haven’t scored in the first four or five minutes,” Miller added. “That’s something we’ve got to remedy.
Sierra Dowler led Union County with 18 points and five rebounds.
Tanner Henry
“I thought Sierra Dowler was incredible,” Gray said. “(She) shot the ball well, took the ball aggressively to the basket and when she does that we’re good.”
Although Tanner Henry tossed in 16 points for the Patriots, Gray was excited about what she did without the ball.
“She kind of set the tone defensively for us running the point of our 1-3-1,” Gray said. “She got after people and our rotations were good.”
After their 11-0 start, Union County led 11-5 at the first stop and then 30-17 at the intermission.
“We talked a lot at halftime about finishing a game that it was 32 minutes and not 16,” Gray said. “We have a tendency, that if we get up in a game, to relax.”
By the end of the third quarter, the Titans had closed the gap to 35-27.
It got even closer in the final stanza. Tri’s Kylie Dishman drilled a 3-pointer at the 4:15 mark to make it 43-37.
Kylie Dishman
Dishman led the Titans with 15 points, while Payton Moore finished with eight points.
Sammie Elleman tossed in nine points for Union County.
In the JV contest, the Titans won 32-23. Ella Chew topped Tri with 11 points. Rainey Shepler led the Patriots with 14 points.
Both teams return to action on Saturday with TEC road trips.
Tri is at Hagerstown during the afternoon, while the Patriots travel to Winchester in the evening.
TRI (10-3, 2-1) – Kylie Dishman 6 0-0 15, Mackenzie Peggs 3 1-2 7, Cayla Johnson 2 0-0 4, Payton Moore 2 4-8 8, Addy Edwards 2 0-0 5, Kensington Appleby 0 0-0 0, Karlee Winkhart 3 0-0 7, Mara Biehl 0 0-0 0. Team – 18 5-10 46.
UNION COUNTY (7-5, 2-1) – Sierra Dowler 7 1-2 18, Tanner Henry 5 3-5 16, Maddie Fulton 1 3-6 5, Madison Walters 0 1-3 1, Sammie Elleman 4 1-3 8, Danielle Franklin 0 0-0 0, Tara Williams 2 1-2 5. Team – 19 10-21 54.
Tri 5 17 27 46
Union County 11 30 35 54
3-pointers – Tri 5 (Dishman 3, Edwards 1, Winkhart 1), Union County 6 (Dowler 3, Henry 3). Rebounds – Tri 30 (Edwards 5), Union County 24 (Dowler 5). Turnovers – Tri 23, Union County 14. Fouls – Tri 15, Union County 18.