In the regular season, the Trenton Lady Bulldogs and Chillicothe Lady Hornets had a good offensive flow going, with the veteran Lady Bulldogs getting a pair of late dribble and pass moves by All-State guard Ainsley Tolson, and baskets from Maci Moore, to win on the Lady Hornets floor 60-50. With the stakes higher for Friday night’s rematch at Higginsville High School in the Class 3, District 14 championship game, the offense became more difficult, particularly for Chillicothe, as Trenton’s stifling man-to-man defense shut down the Hornets, in a 46-25 win for THS that gives the Lady Bulldogs their second district championship in the past three years.
Trenton controlled the first 14 minutes of the game, using a pair of first-half surges to take an 18-10 lead into the final 70 seconds of the half. With a pair of Lady Hornet starters on the bench with foul trouble, the explosive Lady Bulldogs struck, beginning with a three-point knockdown by senior guard Mykah Hurley. Tom Johnson had the play-by-play call:
By the time the halftime buzzer sounded, Trenton had extended the advantage to 27-10, with the Lady Hornets never seriously threatening the lead in the final two quarters.
Hurley finished with 11 points for a balanced Trenton side, now 24-0 on the season. Tom Johnson interviewed the senior guard about the Lady Bulldogs motivation, specifically referring to the 2018 overtime loss at Hamilton that ended Trenton’s season:
Salem Croy added 11 points for the Lady Bulldogs, including the first five points of the contest:
Tolson had 10 points for Trenton, sending the Lady Bulldogs to the Class 3 sectionals on Wednesday night, for an 8:15 showdown with Monroe City from Moberly Area Community College (on Hot Country Z 101.7). She was asked, postgame, about the double-motivation of avenging a district title loss, and playing the Lady Bulldogs biggest historical rival in the process:
Chillicothe, finishing 19-8 on the season, was led by Hunter Keithley with eight points.
