By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
In the final two quarters of a Rock Valley Conference contest last week at McFarland, the East Troy High Schools girls basketball team just about went toe-to-toe with the Spartans.
It was the first two quarters that were the Trojans’ undoing, however.
East Troy fell behind 12-2 after the opening eight minutes and never recovered in a 62-37 loss. The Trojans fell to 4-12 overall and 3-9 in the RVC heading into a non-conference contest Wednesday night against visiting Indian Trails Academy.
“McFarland is pretty well-coached,” East Troy coach Jeff Brown said. “They do a good job of running their offense.
“In the second half, we played much better and went after them a little bit more, so I was proud of them for that.”
McFarland held a commanding 29-8 lead at halftime. The Spartans outscored the Trojans by just four points the last two quarters.
“We shot the ball better in the second half,” Brown said.
Katrina Santos had another big night for the Trojans, as he scored 14 points and had 10 rebounds and three blocked shots. Kayla Casper added eight points, eight rebounds and three steals, followed by Brianna Casper with eight points and four assists.
Jenna Hodges chipped in with six rebounds for the Trojans.
“(Santos continues) playing well, but other kids played well, (too),” Brown said. “Kayla Casper played a little better in the third and fourth quarter, and other kids stepped up in the second half.”
East Troy opened the week with a 56-32 loss to a much-improved Big Foot squad last Tuesday night.
Big Foot led 19-5 after the first quarter and never looked back.
“We struggled against their press more than anything else,” Brown said. “Their young kids are very good. They do a lot of different things on defense that sometimes can confuse you.”
East Troy, which trailed 33-19 at halftime, committed 43 turnovers in the loss. Big Foot closed the game with a 23-13 scoring advantage the final 16 minutes.
Maddie Rosin led the way with 12 points for the Trojans.
“It was good to see Maddie make a few shots,” Brown said. “We ask a lot of her, maybe too much. She didn’t have great floor game, but she had a really good shooting game.”
Santos added nine points, nine rebounds, five steals and four blocks, followed by Jessi Spaight with four rebounds and four assists. Jenna Hodges added four steals.
Following Wednesday’s non-conference matchup with ITA, the Trojans will return to RVC action next Monday, Feb. 9, when they host Jefferson at 7:15 p.m. The Eagles beat East Troy 43-26 back in early December.
