By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
Through a half Friday night, the East Troy girls basketball team was in a great position for a Rock Valley Conference victory over visiting Brodhead-Juda.
Unfortunately for the Trojans, a collision seven minutes into the second half cost them their best player – and gave the Cardinals the opening they needed.
Brodhead overcame a 26-20 East Troy lead with a 38-17 advantage in the final 18 minutes and pulled away for a 58-43 victory. The loss ended the Trojans’ regular season at 4-17 overall and 1-17 in the RVC.
East Troy traveled to Clinton on Tuesday night for a WIAA Division 3 regional opener. The winner advanced to a regional semifinal Friday night at second-seeded Greendale Martin Luther.
Results of that matchup were unavailable by press time.
Despite the loss Friday, there were positives that came from it, East Troy coach Maurya Lomen said.
“It was a great game,” she said. “We had a good crowd, senior night, lead changes. Defensively, we played really well in the first half.”
Lomen was pleased with the opening 18 minutes, including the defensive effort against Brodhead’s top player, Erin Nyhus.
“(Nyhus) is the best player in the conference, and she played really well,” Lomen said. “Ella Rondeau is a great on-the-ball defender and did well containing Nyhus, (who) made some big shots. We subbed a lot and kept the girls’ legs fresh. Offensively, everyone contributed (in the first half).”
The moment that changed the game came when East Troy’s Erin Rice collided with Nyhus. Because of the potential for a concussion, Rice was held out the rest of the game, Lomen said.
Losing Rice, who still led the way with 12 points, took plenty of adjustment for the rest of the team.
“Initially, they were a bit shook up,” she said. “But all of them responded offensively and started to believe in themselves. Again, their shots didn’t fall, but they really worked hard to get open and to take shots. That is a big improvement for us.
“The score really is not indicative of how competitive the game was. We were still in the game until about the last three minutes. As so many times this year, our young squad struggled with the physicality of the game.”
Learning how to finish a team off is a skill that continues to improve, but isn’t quite there yet, Lomen added.
“(Those) are all skills most of my team has never experienced,” she said. “I believe they have improved in so many areas and those skills will be better next year. We are young, and it is exciting to see them grow in confidence.”
Gracie Moker added 11 points for the Trojans, followed by Mackenzie Lindow with seven points and 12 rebounds. Samantha Betley added 10 rebounds.
Trojans fall to Turner
East Troy opened the week with a 59-33 loss Feb. 13 at Beloit Turner. East Troy trailed, 24-6, at halftime and couldn’t recover.
Rice led the way with 13 points, five rebounds and three steals, followed by Lindow with 12 points and six rebounds.
