Girls drop game to Clinton
By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
East Troy High School girls basketball coach Jeff Brown tried a bit of a different tactic when his team traveled to Clinton last week.
And for a half, that strategy – to slow the game down to a snail’s pace – nearly worked, as the Trojans trailed by just four points at the intermission.
Clinton was having none of that in the last 18 minutes, however, as the Cougars finally pulled away in a 48-33 Rock Valley Conference victory.
The loss dropped East Troy to 5-2 overall and 2-2 in the RVC heading into a home game Tuesday night against McFarland. Results of that contest were unavailable at press time.
“We didn’t shoot real well in the first half, but part of it was design by us,” Brown said. “We really wanted to slow the game down, because we thought if we got running with them, they would really blow us out of the water.
“We were extra patient, almost to a fault. … We tried to keep the (score) low. If we shoot a little bit better, we’re ahead of them at (half). We were executing the game plan really well.”
Clinton, which led 14-10 at halftime, outscored the Trojans 34-23 in the second half to take control.
Brown said the Cougars knocked down some shots from the outside against the East Troy packed-in zone, which forced the Trojans to defend more on the perimeter.
From there, Clinton began to make some noise inside – which made East Troy change its plan a bit.
“We had to speed up the game to try and catch up,” Brown said. “A five- or six-point game went to about a 12-point game. I don’t think (the final) score was indicative of how close it was. They had their one run, and we just couldn’t match it.”
Erin Rice led East Troy with 12 points, six rebounds and four blocked shots, followed by Mackenzie Lindow with 10 points and four rebounds. Kayla Casper grabbed 13 rebounds and had five steals, while Maddie Rosin had six rebounds and four assists.
Brown said his young team was able to take away some positives from the loss.
“I think what the kids (learned) from it, sort of like the Brodhead game, is there’s different ways to play different teams,” he said. “If you stick to the game plan, you have a chance (even against) teams that are a little bit more talented than you. If you do the right things, you can win with many different styles.”
Following Tuesday’s game at McFarland, the Trojans will be idle for Christmas until next Wednesday, Dec. 28, when they travel to Milwaukee Messmer for a 12:45 p.m. non-conference matchup.
