BY DANIEL SCHMIDT
THE OBSERVER
OPELIKA — Trinity Christian School’s girls and boys varsity basketball teams both opened their seasons with wins over The Rock Academy at the Covington Recreation Center on Oct. 27.
Lady Eagles’ defense shines
Five practices into the season, the Lady Eagles (1-0) looked anything but rusty.
Trinity held the Lady Lions (0-1) scoreless in the first quarter and cruised to a 43-13 win, led by a 19-point night from Sadie Wood, who hit four three-pointers.
“It feels great. I’m very thankful,” Trinity girls head coach Ruth Ketcham said. “A lot of times, our first games are against really good opponents, so it was a good first game in light of only having five practices.”
The Lady Eagles jumped out to a 16-0 lead after one quarter, with Wood hitting a pair of threes and Emma Miller and Molly Peatman adding four points each. Trinity led 23-7 at halftime, then put the game away with a 16-2 third quarter.
Miller finished with 10 points, and Peatman added nine.
Wood, who missed much of last season with an injury, has stepped into a leadership role as a team captain. Ketcham, who has coached her since seventh grade, said Wood has put in extra work on her shot.
“She’s been working on her shot when no one else sees,” Ketcham said. “She does a lot of hard things on our team that often don’t get noticed. So when you have shots go in, you love that for your players, because they feel they were rewarded for their hard work.”
Wood said seeing her first three-pointer fall was a payoff long in the making.
“I was glad that all my hard work that I’ve been putting in finally paid off,” Wood said. “I’m thankful to the Lord that He’s blessed me with being healthy this season.”
Mareli Facio led the Lady Lions with nine points.
The win was an encouraging start for a program beginning just its third varsity season. Trinity has no seniors and still has four players who had never played basketball before, but many of the returners have played for Ketcham for at least four years.
“I think this year we’re going to be better than we were last year,” Ketcham said. “Our region is hard, and we have a hard schedule. I think this group has a lot of potential.”
The Lady Eagles also had a big crowd behind them for the opener, which Ketcham said hasn’t always been the case for the girls’ games.
“There were times in the past where we haven’t had a whole lot of people at our games, and they kind of trickled in near the end for varsity boys,” Ketcham said. “So it was actually really fun to feel like it was so loud in there.”
Eagles survive late scare
Despite playing without half its roster, the Eagles (1-0) also found a way to open their season with a win.
Jude Simpkins scored 21 points, and Trinity held off a late push from the Lions (0-2) for a 48-42 win.
With several players still focused on football, Trinity boys head coach Noah Gardner said the seven players who suited up had earned their shot.
“These seven have been with us all summer, working out, and have been at practice since late September,” Gardner said. “I wanted them to have the opportunity to come play in this game, and they earned it.”
Trinity built an 18-8 lead after the first quarter and led 31-22 at halftime. Simpkins scored eight of his points in the third quarter as the Eagles pushed the lead to 44-32 heading into the fourth.
The Lions outscored Trinity 10-4 in the final period but couldn’t close the gap.
Daniel Pittman and Noah Mendenhall also added eight points apiece for the Eagles.
“It wasn’t pretty at all times, but I do think they did some really good things,” Gardner said. “I thought we passed the ball very well, especially for a young team, and we cut very well for a young team. At times we got out of control, and that’s something that we can improve on.”
Timothy Boone, who scored seven points for Trinity, said he was glad to finally step into a bigger role.
“When I was starting basketball, I wasn’t always one of the main players, but finally, as a senior, I’m getting to step into a bigger role,” Boone said. “I’m also very pleased how a lot of the younger players who have really little experience have stepped up and learned to play with each other.”
Boone said the message during the Lions’ late run was simple.
“A lot of it was just effort,” Boone said. “We’re tired. We don’t have many subs, but we still need to box out, play hard on defense and rebound.”
Carter Donaldson led The Rock with 16 points.
Gardner, who is also Trinity’s athletic director, said the program has reloaded after graduating four three-year starters.
“The culture is set, and they know what is expected,” Gardner said. “I’m proud of them for coming in every year and working and doing what’s expected of them.”
Gardner said he didn’t expect the crowd that filled the gym for opening night.
“We’ve got the best fans in the state,” he said. “I’m just super thankful they came out tonight.”
