Troy Athens High School

In the 2nd night of back-to-back games our JV Lady RedHawks welcomed in the Brighton Bulldogs to Athens Gymnasium. The bus from Brighton was a little late getting through Michigan traffic and with our ladies playing 2 straight nights you would think that the offenses would struggle a bit and you would be right. The Bulldogs took the early 1st quarter lead by the score of 8-7. In the 2nd quarter the visitors again outscored the RedHawks 8-5 to take a 16-12 lead into the half. Both teams played aggressive defense and there was a lot of physical play that led to the low scoring. "Playing against an aggressive and physical team was a great test for us'" said Sophomore Center Sienna Brown. "It forced us to play more physical and to match their intensity, which gave us confidence going into the 2nd half," she added. The 3rd quarter again was full of hustle, effort, physicality and still little scoring. The Bulldogs were able to outscore the RedHawks 9-8 to take a 25-20 lead going into the 4th quarter. "Everyone was working really hard and our team was playing aggressive, even if the scoreboard didn't show it. We had turnovers but recovered by playing strong defense which led to our comeback," said Lily Greaves. That grit and determination was prevalent in the 4th quarter as the RedHawks turned up their defensive pressure (8 steals) that caused numerous turnovers by the Bulldogs. The RedHawks tied the game midway through the quarter and took the late lead, a lead that they would not relinquish for the hard-fought victory. Our ladies outscored the visitors 12-4 in the 4th-quarter to pull out the win. "We were outrebounded today by a very physical team and that's the way that they were able to score their points," added Madelyn Odgers. "Overall, we hung in against the Bulldogs and seized our opportunities at the end. I'm proud of the way everyone on our team played tonight," she said. The ladies were led by Lily Greaves (11 points, 6 steals & 2 assists) and Samantha Kolpak (6 points & 2 steals). Other key contributions came from Ella Odgers (4 points, 2 rebounds & 2 assists), Madelyn Odgers (4 points, 11 rebounds, 1 steal & 1 block) and Madhu Battula (3 rebounds, 3 steals & 1 assist). The win raises the RedHawks record to 12-3 overall. Great job hanging in ladies and working hard.