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BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS
Sports Editor, RTC
ARGOS — Kinzlee Kelly hit two 3-pointers and scored nine points, but the Argos girls basketball team lost 46-24 to conference and sectional rival Triton at Phil Weybright Gymnasium Tuesday.
Alexa Urednick, one of two freshmen starters for the Lady Dragons, added eight, but the Lady Dragons could not overcome 34 turnovers.
Junior forward Savannah Hawley scored a game-high 16 points and also hauled down nine rebounds for Triton. Gracie Riffle hit a pair of 3-pointers and added 13.
Triton, who had lost their previous two games by an average margin of 28.5 points per game, improved to 1-2 overall and 1-0 in the Hoosier North and beat Argos for the third straight meeting.
Triton made 16 of 19 free throws while Argos made just eight of 15.
Argos fell to 0-3, 0-1 Hoosier North.
Of the 34 turnovers, Argos coach Nick Medich said that 30 were unforced turnovers due to sloppy ballhandling.
“It felt like quite a bit,” Medich said. “We’re having a hard time handling the basketball right now and making the right passes. … I think it’s fundamentals of protecting the basketball. The decisions, I think, are correct. It’s just sometimes a little too late because we lack the fundamentals to get it there on time.”
Triton led 21-10 at halftime and kept the lead in double digits for the entire second half.
Argos trailed 27-12 when Urednick put back her own miss and was fouled with 3:57 left in the third quarter. She missed the ensuing free throw due to a lane violation, but when Kelly scored on a driving banker, the lead was down to 11, and Triton coach Caleb Oetjen called timeout.
Argos had only one more field goal the rest of the game.
In addition to starters Langfeldt and Urednick, three other freshmen – Kinzey Prochno, Harper Ripley and Brooklyn Thomas – saw playing time for Argos.
Of the eight players who got playing time in last year’s sectional game against Trinity Academy, two graduated and two others did not come out for basketball.
Defensively, Medich said there remain issues as to how to defend post players. Argos does not list heights of players on their game program, but Kelly is listed as a forward and is Argos’ most experienced frontcourt player. But she also excels with her perimeter shooting.
So guarding players like the 5-10 Hawley present a challenge.
“We are trying to decide what we’re going to do,” Medich said. “I think with some more experience and being able to put more pressure on the basketball, I think, from the guards is going to help with that a little bit. But yeah, we don’t have a lot of height, and we have some time to come up with a scheme on how we’re going to start guarding girls down low that are taller than us, which is 99 percent of girls basketball players.”
Argos senior Lilyan Ream missed the game with a knee injury.
Triton 46, Argos 24
TRITON (46) (1-2, 1-0)
Gracie Riffle 4 3-4 13, Lydia Hammond 0 2-2 2, Janika Kemp 0 0-0 0, Chloe McKinney 0 0-0 0, Savannah Hawley 6 4-6 16, Natalie Crooks 0 2-2 2, Tatum Hudson 1 2-2 4, Jillian Bules 2 2-2 6, Austyn Wright 0 0-0 0, Avery Faulkner 1 1-1 3, Addalyn Bailey 0 0-0 0, Jada Bules 0 0-0 0
TEAM: 14 16-19 46
ARGOS (24) (0-3, 0-1)
Emma Langfeldt 1 2-2 4, Haley Shafer 0 1-4 1, Makenzie Smith 0 0-0 0, Kinzlee Kelly 3 1-2 9, Alexa Urednick 3 2-3 8, Peytyn Willis 0 0-0 0, Kinzey Prochno 0 2-4 2, Harper Ripley 0 0-0 0, Brooklyn Thomas 0 0-0 0
TEAM: 7 8-15 24
Three-point field goals:
Triton 2 (Riffle 2),
Argos 2 (Kelly 2)
Total fouls: Triton 19, Argos 17
Turnovers: Triton 17, Argos 34
Scoring by quarters
Triton 13 8 12 13 – 46
Argos 5 5 9 5 – 24
JV: Triton 43, Argos 7
