By Dan Truttschel
Sports Correspondent
Little went right on either end of the floor Monday night for the East Troy High School girls basketball team.
And the end result was a disappointing non-conference setback.
Host Westosha Central jumped out to a 17-8 first-quarter lead and never looked back in a convincing 58-41 victory. The loss dropped the Trojans to 8-12 overall.
The difference early was simple, East Troy coach Jeff Brown said.
“They shot well,” he said. “We didn’t respond with some energy.”
Brown said the fact the game was the third in just six days at the end of a long season wasn’t an excuse for being flat Monday night.
“It’s hard to say (if that made a difference),” he said. “They’re 15 to 16 years old. They should be ready to play every night.”
Central added to its lead in the second quarter with a 15-10 run that gave it a 32-18 advantage by halftime. The Falcons outscored the Trojans 26-23 the rest of the way.
The Falcons ran an efficient offense that East Troy had trouble adjusting to at times, Brown said.
“They set a lot of screens, and then they got open shots off that,” he said. “We (also) didn’t get back in transition very well.”
One bright spot was the play inside by Katrina Santos, who had 20 points, and M.E. Dodge, who had 11.
Finding those two in the post is where the Trojans have to do their damage, Brown said.
“Once we got the ball inside, we were fine,” he said. “But we had trouble doing that sometimes. We made some bad decisions.”
Brown continues to be pleased with Santos’s development.
“I think she’s working hard and getting better,” he said. “She’s definitely somebody people should be looking out for the next couple years.”
Prior to Monday’s contest, the Trojans dropped a pair of Rock Valley Conference matchups.
East Troy opened the week with a tough 39-38 setback Feb. 18 to visiting Edgerton, as the Tide hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer for the difference.
Maddie Rosin led the way in that contest with 12 points, followed by Santos with 10 points, eight rebounds and two steals and Dodge with 10 rebounds and two steals.
Three nights later, host McFarland rolled past the Trojans 54-26. The Spartans cruised out to a 22-6 first-quarter lead and never was challenged from there.
Santos led the way with eight points and nine rebounds, followed by Dodge with seven points, seven rebounds and five steals.
East Troy was back in action Tuesday night against visiting Indian Trails Academy Tuesday night. Results were unavailable by press time.
The Trojans close out their regular season Thursday night at Whitewater. East Troy brings a 5-10 Rock Valley Conference record into that contest.
From there, East Troy will focus on the postseason and the upcoming WIAA Division 3 regional. The Trojans drew the No. 2 seed and will host the winner of third-seeded Milwaukee North and sixth-seeded Milwaukee Tenor.
“We want to try to improve and get ready for the tournament,” Brown said. “We’re not really worried about the losses. We want to do some damage in the regional.
