Triton Central fights to end to hold off Franklin County

FAIRLAND – A flurry of second-quarter threes gave Triton Central a lead it never relinquished.

On Saturday, freshman Sawyor Murdick made a trio of 3s in the quarter and junior Maryrose Felling sank her first long-range shot to turn a 13-9 deficit to Franklin County into a 32-26 halftime advantage.

From there, a young and undersized Triton Central squad had to show some toughness – a fact head coach Bryan Graham was quite vocal about during a timeout in what was a quiet gymnasium.

The Tigers were outrebounded in the third quarter 13-4 and the Wildcats cut the lead to 43-42 late in the quarter.

A pair of free throws from Kate Collier opened the lead to 45-42 at the break and Felling hit 9 of 12 free throws in the final quarter to secure a 62-55 victory.

“It’s one of those situations where we’ve talked about it over and over,” explained Graham of the timeout tirade. “The first time, it was like can I get a box out?

“The part that was most irritating as a coaching staff is your moving the ball around and a shot goes up, they may run around you. On a free throw, you are standing there and they are standing here (Graham demonstrates with his hands) – that’s my job and you have to do your job.”

Felling finished with a game-high 23 points on a tough shooting night (2 of 9 from the arc) but made 11-of-14 free throws to lead her team. She also had nine rebounds and three steals.

Murdick came off the bench to score 14 points and grab five rebounds. Collier hit a pair of 3s and finished with 10 points.

“I will give (my team) this, (Franklin County) cut the lead to one but people don’t understand how young and inexperienced we are,” said Graham. “With our size and inexperience, our margin of error is very slim. We have to do the little things all the time. We can’t get by with we can just get it back later.

“I will say this, the maturity level with how they react … they don’t quit and keep coming back and fighting and playing hard.”

Franklin County (6-9) had three players score in double figures.

Tiffany Billman made three 3s and finished with 16 points. Ruby Singer had a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Madesyn Sunderhaus added 10 points and three assists.

A 10-0 run late in the first quarter for Franklin County nullified a solid start for Triton Central. A late drive and score by Quinn King cut the deficit for the Tigers to 13-9 after one quarter.

Murdick’s first 3 tied the game at 13-all. Felling’s first 3 came roughly three minutes later on the scoreboard clock and gave Triton Central a 20-19 lead.

Murdick hit back-to-back 3s inside the final minute of the first half to extend the lead to six.

Triton Central’s advantage grew to nine midway through the third quarter but an 8-0 run that was sparked by several second-chance opportunities forced Graham to call timeout and send his team a message.

A 3-point play by Singer early in the fourth quarter got Franklin County within 47-45 but Felling found Collier for a 3 at the other end of the floor to push the lead back to five.

Despite King and Felling missing four consecutive free throws at one point, Triton Central’s defense kept the Wildcats at enough of a distance for Felling to finally ice the game from the free throw line.

Triton Central will host the Shelby County Tournament beginning Thursday with the girls semifinal games.

In the opener, Waldron (5-10) will face Southwestern (2-14) with the winner advancing to Saturday’s championship game.

Triton Central (9-6) will then host Morristown (8-6) in the second semifinal.

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