Aside from a competitive opening three minutes of action last Tuesday at Franklin County High School, the contest between the host Lady Wildcats and rival East Central Lady Trojans played out much as every game in the series has since 2012.

A 9-7 game at 4:55 of the first quarter, the Trojans went on to outscore the Cats 61-12 for a final of 70-19. The lead was 50 after three quarters when FCHS alumnus Kevin Moore pulled his starters. In 18 games across nine seasons, Moore's teams have an average winning margin of 32.7 points.

“We played hard the first half but in the second half, we were tired from the constant subbing and pressing by East Central,” said first-year FC head coach Kyle Van Meter. “They have a solid basketball program and playing against them showed our entire program where we want to be.”

It was 9-2 early but senior Jenna Bruns – one of five guards in the starting lineup – popped a long two from the top of the key and followed that with a corner 3-pointer off freshman Tiffany Billman's assist. 

After a timeout, though, the Wildcats would go over eight scoreless minutes before two Bruns free throws and another three minutes until the next field goal – junior Kiersten Schell's three with 1:19 remaining in the half. Junior standout Josie Trabel, playing in her hometown gym, responded with a triple to give EC an insurmountable 38-12 advantage at halftime.

Throughout the night, the Class 4A Lady Trojans demonstrated why they are ranked 11th in the latest Indiana coaches' poll. Ball-hawking defense turned into several quick scoring opportunities, many of those coming from beyond the arc – six different girls connected, and senior guard Hope Fox dialed up four times on her way to a game-high 19 points. EC also executed well in half-court sets, getting open looks and/or trips to the foul line.

Turnovers started to mount for the home team as the first period went along. The visitors earned eight points as direct results of TOs and finished a couple of backdoor cuts; the first was Fox to Brooke Carpenter and the second, from Julia Tiemann to Avery Daniels, just beat the horn and made it 21-7 after one complete.

The Trojan run would reach 17 on a Fox trey and transition score by Tiemann, leading to Van Meter stopping play with 5:01 left in the half. A Caitlyn Dick three made it a 20-point game at the 3:32 mark and Tiemann and Dick landed 3-pointers around a 10-second violation on the Wildcats.

If there was any hope for the hosts, those thoughts were quickly dashed as EC completed a 13-point run in the opening moments of the third stanza. Junior Laney Baker and Trabel had consecutive and-one chances, with the latter finishing hers. Trabel then fed Baker in transition for two and Baker's 3 put the Trojans up 48-12.

Following a Bruns foul shot, Fox scored six straight on modern and traditional 3-pointers. Billman sank 2 of 2 at the line but that was followed by a trio of triples – Fox, Baker, Dick – and a steal and basket by Fox.

Baker, Trabel and Dick added 14, 12 and 9 for the guests, respectively. Bruns led five FC scorers with 8. Moore won his 201st career game and EC had an average winning spread of 50.5 points through its first two games.

Scoring
EC (2-0) – Trabel 12 (3), Dick 9 (3 3s), Fox 19 (4 3s), Baker 14 (2 3s), Tiemann 7 (3), Daniels 2, Carpenter 4, Bailey Ensinger 3 (3)
FC (2-2) – Ki. Schell 3 (3), Kassidy Schell 2, Bruns 8 (3), Billman 4, Nicole Mears 2

At Northeastern (Nov. 12)

The weekend tilt at Northeastern had an exciting finish that ultimately went FC's way.

The host Lady Knights held a 44-36 advantage before full-court pressure by the visitors forced a series of NE turnovers. With the home team still nursing a 53-51 lead late, the sophomore Mears – seeing limited action as she returns from a sprained ankle – was fouled and hit both free throws for a tie ball game.

Northeastern then went to the line for one-and-one, missing everything on the front attempt. Van Meter had one timeout left with 10 seconds to go but kept it in his pocket. Quickly advancing the ball, FC put it in the hands of senior Alex Gillman; she was fouled on the drive and earned two foul shots. The first was off but the second true as the Wildcats went up 54-53.

NE called timeout to set up a final play. But with Mears covering the inbound pass and FC's guards pressing, the play never developed as Gillman intercepted the deep pass to preserve the one-point win.

The Lady Cats started out slow and were down 15-8 at the end of one. A 30-19 deficit at halftime, a sense of urgency led to FC clawing back in and trailing 39-36 going into the final period.

The Schell sisters paced the offense as Kiersten scored 18 and Kassidy 14. Kassidy added 4 rebounds and 2 assists, with Kiersten getting 3 steals and 3 assists.

FC (3-2) hosts Union County Friday, followed by road games at Switzerland County (Saturday night) and Talawanda of Ohio Monday. The first Eastern Indiana Athletic Conference game is Thanksgiving Eve at Lawrenceburg.