By JON WEBB
SCOTTSVILLE — The Trojanettes picked up their first overall — and district —win of the season Tuesday night. But it didn’t come without a price.
Barren lost both Kelsey Trowbridge and Jamie Cummings to injury before the start of the second half, leaving the team without two starters.
Luckily for Barren, Kelsey Mitchell was healthy.
Mitchell scored 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds to help the Trojanettes beat Allen County-Scottsville 49-37.
Head coach John Butler said the win was especially impressive considering the injury-ridden circumstances.
“We lost two of our best players, and Kelsey (Mitchell) played her best game of the year,” he said. “Our girls did a great job handling adversity tonight.”
They also did a better job of holding onto the ball.
After two games plagued with turnover problems, Butler said the team — especially point guard Leah Caudel — greatly improved its ball handling. Bench play helped as well, he said.
“The bench play was tremendous,” he said. “(It) gave us a great, great lift.”
The starters had plenty of lift early in the game.
Barren jumped out to 7-2 lead thanks to two Mitchell field goals and a three-pointer from Trowbridge.
The shot would be Trowbridge’s lone conversion of the night, however, as the senior was taken to the hospital after four minutes of work. According to Butler, Trowbridge injured her clavicle, but he knew nothing beyond that.
Another Mitchell field goal and a Katie Davis three-pointer allowed Barren to hold on to a 12-11 lead heading into the second quarter.
Just more than a minute in, Allen County fouled Cummings on a three-point attempt, and the sophomore completed all three free throws to extend the Trojanette advantage to 15-11.
Soon after, Cummings —the team’s leading scorer so far this season — left the game with an unspecified injury and did not return.
The injuries didn’t slow the Trojanettes down, though.
After a Rice Marah score at the 5:51 mark, Barren embarked on a 7-0 run thanks to scores from Mitchell, Caudel and Crista Seabolt to give the team its biggest lead of the game at 22-13.
Two free throws from Kelsey Cummings widened the lead to double digits, but Allen closed the half with five points in the last 20 seconds to cut the advantage to 26-21 heading into the half.
Allen continued the momentum into the early part of the second.
A three from Marah and a two by Hannah Harper brought Allen within a basket.
But it would be as close as the Patriots would get.
The Trojanettes outscored Allen County 12 to five in the final stanza to seal their first win of the season.
Davis added 12 points to Mitchell’s game high 17, while Caudel pitched in six.
Barren will follow its first district win with a chance for its second when the team welcomes Monroe County on Friday.
Trojanettes
Name Points
Kelsey Mitchell 17
Katie Davis 12
Leah Caudel 6
Crista Seabolt 4
Jamie Cummings 3
Kelsey Trowbridge 3
Mary McKinney 2
Kelsey Cummings 2
