The Community R-6 basketball teams started their seasons at home on Friday night but against different opponents. The Lady Trojans defeated Christian Fellowship 59-46 and then the Trojans lost to Chamois 64-29.
The Lady Trojans had never played Christian Fellowship, a religious private school in Columbia, before Friday as both teams had to drop Chamois from the schedule due to Chamois not having enough for a girls team this year. Community took some time to learn about the Lady Knights, taking a 32-27 lead, and then the Lady Trojans outscored them 14-4 in the third quarter to pull away and carry a double-digit lead the rest of the game. Aaliyah Welch led the floor with career-highs of 19 points and 13 rebounds, Kylie Brooks followed with 11 points and 10 rebounds, Brooklynn Glasgow had 11 points and seven rebounds, and Alyssa Beamer added eight points. For Christian Fellowship, Brooke Grathwohl led with 18 points and Kylie Babich had eight points.
"The first half was extremely difficult," head coach Bob Curtis said. "(Brooke Grathwohl) and (Kylie Babich) are their best players. It took us about 15 minutes to figure out (Grathwohl) and (Babich) are who we need to put our best defenders on. Until halftime, we were still learning about Christian Fellowship."
The Trojans started slow by trailing Chamois 14-4 after the first quarter and couldn't climb back into the game. The Pirates were dominant in rebounds, and the Trojans struggled with their offense on opening night. Mason Carroll led Community with 10 points, five rebounds, two blocks and two steals; Aaron Carter and Clayton Eikel each had five points; and Brant Cope finished with four points and six rebounds. For Chamois, Jaxon Wuelling led with 21 points followed by Dawson Brandt's 18 points off the bench.
"We need to go back to the fundamentals on defense and start from there to build up," said head coach Kody Asquith, who was promoted this season from his assistant position. "It's the same thing on offense -- start with the small things and add in more complex things as we get going."
Both teams play next at Wellsville-Middletown on Tuesday, with the Lady Trojans starting at 5:30 p.m.
Look for the full stories in the Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2023, edition of the Mexico Ledger.
