The Lady Trojans welcomed the Catawba Valley Red Hawks to Fayetteville Saturday afternoon. The Trojans did not have enough firepower to stop the conference leading Red Hawks, and they fell, 65-84. This evened the season record to 7-7, and 5-7 in conference. They had won two games before today and had hoped to keep the streak alive.
The game opened with both teams playing hard defense and trying to create mismatches. The Red Hawks pushed the ball to the rim, and the Trojans used their perimeter shooting. Dajah Horne hit three 3 pt. baskets to lead the Trojans in the opening quarter. She also lead all scorers with 9 pts. Shaniya Lester led the Red Hawks with 6 pts., and the front line was effective once they were able to get the ball. The Red Hawks lead 17-15 to close the first frame.
The Trojans opened very strong in the second quarter taking a 4 pt. lead, 23-19 with a 3 pt. shot from Amarilis Floyd and strong free throw shooting. The Trojans started to push the ball at the basket with Kennede Coleman getting to the line along with Floyd. The Trojans were 9-11 in the quarter and were able to stay close. The Red Hawks pressed Horne to stop her outside shooting, which has been excellent for three straight games. Tanisha Wall and Zharia Brown were strong inside for the Red Hawks and they were able to stretch the lead to 43-35 at the half.
The Trojans have been able to rebound in the third quarter most of the season and were effective to open the half, but this was short-lived. Nikkyana McCaskill, who was held without a basket in the first half, hit two 3 pt. shots and spurred the Red Hawks to rally and extend the lead. Floyd and Coleman were leading the Trojans as the isolation on Horne removed her from the offense for much of the second half. The Trojans trailed 46-63 to close the third.
The Trojans were able to get Horne back in the game, but most of her scoring was form the free throw line. The attacks on the basket put the Red Hawks in foul trouble and the Trojans were 24-36 from the line for the game, which is the best shooting in several game.s Lester was able to break free for the Red Hawks as they moved the ball and scored 18 points in the game to lead CVCC.
The Trojans were expecting a battle as the Red Hawks are undefeated in region play. The hoped to give a better showing, but they just did not have enough offense to overcome the high scoring Hawks. A lead midpoint in the second quarter is a building block, as well as figuring out how to get Horne involved with the isolation defense on her. The return game at Hickory next month will be a good test of how the team can respond to the challenge.
FTCC 15 20 11 19 65
CVCC 17 26 20 21 84
FTCC Troy, 3, Horne, 20, Floyd, 14, Coleman, 11, Inman, 1, T. Evans, 9, Bernard, 5, James, 2
3 Pts. 5, Horne, 3, Floyd, 1, Bernard, 1
Fouls 17, Horne, 2, Floyd, 4, Coleman, 3, Inman, 2, Evans, 1, Bernard, 2, James, 3
CVCC Lyerly, 5, McCaskill, 12, Lester, 18, Reid, 4, King-Cooper, 4, Wall, 16, Brown, 15, Wilson, 5, Agrusa, 5
3 Pts. 3, Lyerly, 1, McCaskill, 2
Fouls 28, Lyerly, 2, McCaskill, 4, Lester, 4, Mitchell, 2, King-Cooper, 2, Wall, 3, Brown, 4, Wilson, 4, Agrusa, 3