Early Saturday morning, the Lady Titans from Gibson Southern made the long trek north to face off against the Lady Trojans from Indianapolis Bishop Chatard. The Lady Titans entered the matchup 1-1 in this early season with a loss to Castle to open the year and then a win against North Posey. Chatard entered the game 1-1 as well, with a loss to Scottsburg to start the season, then followed up by a close victory against the Mt. Vernon Marauders in Fortville, Indiana. This game was originally scheduled at the Hoosier Gymnasium but was rescheduled due to the Titan football team playing at the Tri-West Regional on Saturday as well.
“We were really looking forward to playing in the Hoosier Gym, but given the situation with the success of our football team, it could not fit onto the schedule this year,” head coach Kyle Brasher said. “We will definitely work on getting that back on the schedule in the future.”
The Lady Titans came out controlling the pace of the game early on, stifling the Chatard defense. They scored 22 points in both the first and second quarters, which put them considerably ahead early on. What helped aid this raining of points in the first half was nine three-pointers from the Lady Titans. Senior guard Chloey Graham had the hot hand early on, as did junior guard Gabby Spink. Both ladies led the scoring attack, which put them up 44-26 as the halftime buzzer sounded. Good passing and spacing from other teammates helped aid this early offensive spark.
“I think we all knew that we needed to come out strong and put them away early,” senior guard Ally Malone said. “We came out, hit shots, got stops and those stops turned into more offense for us.”
Once both teams returned to the floor for the second half of play, they both knew they would most likely be in for a closer half. Shots were harder to come by for the Lady Titans, but a strong defensive effort helped keep Chatard in check.
“We knew we needed to keep the lead, so we all locked down and made sure we limited their scoring,” Graham said.
Both Spink and Graham kept leading the scoring attack in the second half, finishing with 31 points and 20 points respectively, but it was a team effort to stop the Lady Trojans.
“Gabby did a great job of attacking the paint and putting the pressure on the defense. She was able to draw several fouls and make those fouls count at the free throw line,” Brasher said. “Chloey has come out shooting the ball great this season, which should come as no surprise. Chloey is doing a great job of reading the defense, and her teammates know how great of a shooter she is and are setting great screens for her.”
Ultimately, the Lady Titans’ offense was too much for Chatard to overcome in the second half, as the final score ended up 69-58, in favor of the Lady Titans. This win moved the girls to 2-1 on the adolescent season, as Chatard dropped to 1-2.
“This victory over Chatard really solidified a lot of the work the girls have put in during the off-season and what we have been doing this first month of practice,” Brasher said. “Our girls showed great resilience and grit to hold onto such a tough victory.”
The Lady Titans host the Lady Rangers of Forest Park at home for their first home game of the season on Tuesday night.
