By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
In a season full of highly anticipated matchups, there are going to be nights when the East Troy girls basketball team has to just fight through to the end.
Last week’s Rock Valley Conference contest with visiting Jefferson was one such occasion.
East Troy held a slim lead after the first quarter and gradually pulled away en route to a workmanlike 51-33 victory. The win improved the Trojans, ranked second in Division 3, to 9-0 overall and 6-0 in the RVC heading into a huge matchup Tuesday night at fellow unbeaten Whitewater.
Results of that contest with the Whippets, ranked seventh in Division 2, were unavailable by press time.
Defense again was the name of the game for the Trojans in the win over Jefferson, East Troy coach Jeff Brown said.
“Defensively, we played really well,” he said. “We made it difficult for them to get any easy looks at the hoop.
“We were able to put a lot of ball pressure on their guards, and we occasionally trapped.”
East Troy led 9-6 after the first quarter and 21-13 by halftime. The Trojans pushed their advantage to nine points heading into the last eight minutes before they finally pulled away with a 19-10 effort.
Offense was an uncharacteristic struggle all night, Brown said.
“We didn’t shoot well most of the night,” he said. “I think we finally converted a few shots (late).”
Rachel Atchison led the way with 17 points, five rebounds, four assists and five steals, followed by Breanna Gaspervich with 16 points, five rebounds and six steals.
Andrea Olsen added seven points and seven steals, while Alicia Oleson had six rebounds. Alee Schahczinski chipped in with five rebounds.
The focus immediately after the Jefferson contest turned to Whitewater, which tied the Trojans for the RVC North Division crown a year ago.
Whitewater began play this week at 10-0 overall and 6-0 in the RVC after a 60-34 win last week over Evansville. The Whippets feature one of the state’s best players in junior point guard Brooke Trewyn.
“(We need to) stop Trewyn from going wild, shoot well and enjoy the moment,” Brown said.
Following Tuesday’s contest, the Trojans return to action Friday night when they travel to Big Foot to face the Chiefs at 7:15 p.m. Big Foot, under first-year head coach Mike Dowden, took a 2-7 overall record and a 1-5 RVC mark into a game Tuesday at Brodhead.
