Lady Trojans must beat Cheyenne

The Pahrump Trojans girls basketball team had a tough week at home last week as they battled Faith Lutheran Wednesday and Clark Thursday, the breast cancer awareness game, losing both games.

The final scores for both games: Pahrump 36 Faith Lutheran 62, Pahrump 26 Clark 48.

Against Faith Lutheran the Trojans came out strong in the first half according to Trojans Coach Jennifer Hagstrom.

Hagstrom said, “We played them tough the first half, 21-13 going into halftime, our rebounding was impressive and the girls were scrapping on defense.”

The Trojans were able to keep it close in the first half. Unfortunately, coming out of halftime the Trojans were not able to keep up their tough play. The third quarter of the game was their biggest downfall.

Hagstrom said, “The third quarter was pretty rough. They hit two three-point shots and had one on three straight possessions which broke our back. We went man-to-man to try and combat the 3’s, but just couldn’t stop the bleeding.”

Hagstrom overall was not happy with the way the girls played. Had the third quarter been a little bit more in their favor things may have turned out differently because the Trojans played hard.

“The girls played really hard. Alyssa Murphy and Andi Bishop scored 8 points and had 11 rebounds. Bishop played really well off the bench. Shayla Dance scored a double double with 15 points and 13 rebounds. They were our bright spots on offense but we just didn’t score enough in the third quarter to keep it within striking distance. They are a tough team and it was a better effort by us than last season. I was proud of them for sticking in there and playing hard until the end,” she said.

Thursday against the Clark Chargers was a significant game for this team. It was the breast cancer awareness game, otherwise known as the “Pink Game”. The stands were filled with people who had bought shirts to support the team. Breast cancer has been a factor in many of these athletes’ and coaches’ lives and it had become an annual tradition.

Hagstrom said, “The Pink Game was something my first teams were very motivated to start for our community. Personally, we have all known friends and family with breast cancer, and I think the kids enjoy donating the proceeds and helping out in the community. The funds will be donated locally to the ‘Mammovan,’ to help local Pahrump women get detection and screenings.”

The Trojans came out strong against the Chargers. Hagstrom was enthusiastic about the first half.

“I was extremely happy with the first half defensive and rebounding effort. We out-rebounded them by six (21-15). The kids rotations were great. Amber Skilling, Andi Bishop and Shayla Dance did a nice job down low of stopping penetration and only allowing one shot. It was a great group effort,” she said.

Coming into the game against Clark, the Trojans knew the Chargers had beaten Faith Lutheran and looked to be the best team in the league and the toughest to beat. Hagstrom and the team focused on a couple of their main players, Bobbi Floyd and Ci’Quaday Belser, hoping to frustrate and get them out of their game.

“Our strategy was to keep Bobbi Floyd as far out of the perimeter as possible and to get their shooter to take jumpers instead of layups, then to focus on getting the rebound on the first attempt,” she said.

The Trojans play Cheyenne at home on Wednesday and Hagstrom has given her team something to focus on during practice and hopefully implement for a win.

Hagstrom said, “Pressure the ball handlers. Cheyenne’s guards don’t handle pressure very well so that’s going to be big on Wednesday night. Also, their post player is a strong asset for them so we are going to be working on something to combat her effectiveness. Wednesday is a must-win for us, so I am looking for a really focused effort and the able to execute the game plan against Cheyenne.”

Pahrump still has a chance at the playoffs but it is a must-win situation against Cheyenne.