Weir, Titans use strength in post to top Raiders
In a game the Dickinson Trinity girls basketball team needed its post players to perform, the Titans got just that and a whole lot more.By: Dustin Monke, The Dickinson Press
- Kennedy Keator
In a game the Dickinson Trinity girls basketball team needed its post players to perform, the Titans got just that and a whole lot more.
Junior Gretchen Weir led the battle in the paint as Trinity kept Richardton-Taylor and their senior posts, twins Halle and Logan Olson, in check Thursday night.
Weir came off the bench for 14 points and a game-high nine rebounds and got lots of help on the perimeter as the Titans won their seventh consecutive game, defeating Richardton-Taylor 82-41 at Knights of Columbus Activities Center.
“We told Gretchen, ‘You’re a great player when you get rebounds for us,’ and she did that tonight,” Trinity head coach Alysia Barman said. “That was nice to see. Again, our rebounding as a team, that’s where we need to be.”
Trinity (11-4, 4-0 District 14) held a 48-30 edge on the boards and used their presence in the paint to break free in the second half.
“It’s definitely a lot different when there’s two 6-foot post girls in there,” Weir said with a smile.
Freshman center Brianna Soehren, who got the start, had back-to-back shots in the post and Weir made another to spark a 15-0 run the Titans used to break open a 55-24 lead.
Junior guards Rachel Jahner and Katelyn Grinsteinner bookended the surge with a pair of 3-pointers.
Jahner made five 3-pointers and finished with 19 points, four assists and four steals. Grinsteinner had 18 points, five assists and four rebounds and four steals.
“You know, there wasn’t a lot of energy in the gym just to start the game,” Barman said. “That was something we challenged them with at halftime. I thought our girls did a good job in the third quarter of coming out and finding energy within themselves.”
Trinity led 15-10 after the first quarter and built a 35-20 halftime lead after scoring six unanswered points in the final minute of the second quarter.
Junior Allison Steffan was also big for the Titans off the bench, scoring 11 points and grabbing eight rebounds.
Weir, Steffan and Soehren made it difficult for the Raiders to come away with boards, something the Titans knew would be a challenge with the Olsons, who are 5-foot-10, on the floor.
“We knew we had to come out and box them out right away and get rebounds,” Barman said. “That’s what we were really focused on.”
Sophomore guard Mikayla Aluise led Richardton-Taylor (4-9, 1-3 District 14) with 11 points and five assists. Halle Olson added nine points and Logan Olson had seven while the twins combined for seven boards.
Richardton-Taylor didn’t get many chances thanks to Trinity’s defense.
The Raiders were 12 of 36 (33 percent) from the field and committed 32 turnovers. They were, however, 14 of 22 from the free-throw line.
“That’s what we’ve been trying to challenge them with in practice, is being able to get out and defend, especially on the full court and on the perimeter and they did a good job really making them uncomfortable, forcing them to make bad decisions,” Barman said.
RT 10 20 28 41
Trinity 15 35 62 82
RT: Mikayla Aluise 11, Halle Olson 9, Logan Olson 7, Sami Steiner 6, Shayna Frederick 3, Brook Hangrove 3, Megan Kuhn 2.
T: Rachel Jahner 19, Katelyn Grinsteinner 18, Gretchen Weir 14, Allison Steffan 11, Kennedy Keator 7, Brianna Soehren 6, Jillian Stockert 4, Madison Jahner 2, Katelyn Rummel 1.
3-pointers: RT 3 (L. Olson 1, H. Olson 1, Hangrove 1), T 8 (Jahner 5, Grinsteinner 2, Keator 1). Free throws: RT 14-20, T 14-22. Total fouls: RT 16, T 18. Rebounds: RT 30 (L. Olson 4, Frederick 4), T 48 (Weir 9). Assists: RT 9 (Aluise 5), T 20 (Madison Jahner 6). Steals: RT 5 (H. Olson 2), T 18 R. Jahner 4, Grinsteinner 4). Blocks: RT 0, T 3 (Weir 2). Turnovers: RT 32, T 14.
Tags: trinity titans, richardton-taylor raiders, high school basketball, region 7, sports, preps, titans, basketball
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