New Trier avenge earlier loss to Trinity to claim Regional Title

Less than two months ago, New Trier were coming off their worst stretch of the season, losing four of six games which included a double digit loss to Trinity.

Since that point of the season, the Trevians have gone on a tear, rattling off 10 straight wins capped off with their latest 67-42 victory over Trinity to claim another regional title.

“I’m just riding the high right now, it will probably really hit me tomorrow,” said New Trier senior Cate Murdock. “Especially since we lost to them last time we played them it feels good to get this time.”

“It was in the back of our minds,” added Maggie Murdock. “We were thinking that we were going to beat them this time when it matters on our home court and forget about that game.”

It didn’t take long for New Trier to take control of the game. The Trevians confused Trinity by mixing up their defensive look almost every possession to start the game on a 11-0 run.

New Trier’s defensive pressure limited Trinity to only four first half field goals, giving the Trevians a 29-18 halftime lead which was a complete role reversal from the last time the two teams met.

“Not only did we lose last time but it was pretty ugly, I think we were down by 25 at half,” said Rodgers. “A lot of teams in this sectional are pretty comparable, and we talked a lot about who is going to work the hardest over the last month and these kids have really, really worked hard.”

Luckily the shooting woes for Trinity did not continue into the third quarter. Led by Alex Fanning (19 points, 13 rebounds, three blocks) the Blazers started the second half on a 6-0 run to cut the New Trier lead down five.

Unfortunately for Trinity, although they managed to drop 20 points in the third quarter, they were unable to slow down New Trier’s offense, as the Trevians scored 18 points of their own in the third quarter to maintain a nine point advantage.

“I told them before the game, something is not going to go right and whoever handles it the best is going to come out on top,” said Rodgers. “And they responded so well, so well. With Trinity coming back and Taite (Ryan) picking up her fourth foul, they were resilient and  was so proud of them.”

With so much energy spent in the third quarter trying to mount a comeback, it looked as though Trinity ran out of gas in the final quarter. New Trier’s defense stepped up once again only allowing four points in the final frame, while Cate (14 points, five rebounds) and Maggie Murdock (13 points, five rebounds, four assists) closed out the game comfortably on the offensive end.

Though the Trevians will be sure to celebrate their regional title, they know there is still a lot of work to be done with a sectional semifinal matchup against Maine West on the horizon.

“We actually have practice off tomorrow, so we have one day to celebrate,” said. Cate Murdock. “But we after that we go right back to practice on Saturday to get ready for Maine West.”

“We’re playing for each other,” added Rodgers. “I mean we’re playing to win but we’re playing for each other and we want to keep this going as long as we can.”