By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
Don’t look now, but the young East Troy High School girls basketball team is starting to string some victories together.
And the Trojans are doing that in dominating fashion to boot.
East Troy improved to 6-6 overall and 2-5 in the Rock Valley Conference last week with a 60-36 conference win Jan. 7 at Palmyra-Eagle, followed by a 66-42 non-conference victory Jan. 9 at Horicon.
“We are improving,” East Troy coach Jeff Brown said. “I thought we were very aggressive on both ends of the court and played well.
“We’re a young team with only one senior, but I have seen steady improvement from a lot of kids. They continue to work hard and accept coaching.”
In the road win at Horicon, the Trojans were in control from the start.
East Troy held a 32-22 halftime lead and added 34 more points in the final 18 minutes to bring home the easy road victory.
Katrina Santos led the way once again with 22 points, 11 rebounds and three steals, followed by Erin Rice with 11 points and five assists and Kayla Casper with nine points and 11 rebounds.
MacKenzie Lindow chipped and Maddie Rosin chipped in with eight points each, while Callie Vogel grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
“We’re getting some other contributors other than (Santos),” Brown said. “It was great to see Erin, MacKenzie, Maddie and Kayla score like they did. It gives Kat a little more room to operate.”
In the road win over Palmyra, the Trojans again never were threatened.
East Troy led 31-19 at halftime and increased that lead in the second half to account for the 24-point victory.
Santos led three girls in double digits with 21 points and 13 rebounds, followed by Lindow with 12 points and five assists and Casper with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Rosin had six rebounds and four assists, while Ashley Weber grabbed six rebounds.
“We got them in foul trouble by getting the ball inside,” Brown said. “Then Mackenzie got hot from the outside.”
East Troy was back in action Tuesday night against visiting Beloit Turner. Results were unavailable by press time.
The Trojans finish their week Friday when they travel to defending WIAA Division 3 state champion Whitewater. The Whippets, who were unbeaten en route to the title a year ago, currently are the state’s top-ranked team.
“We expect to play hard and compete,” Brown said. “Our key to success is to take care of the ball so they can’t run and to limit their possessions.”
