BASKETBALL: Trinity girls get all of Gatewood, advance to 2-AA title game for Friday rematch with Brentwood

Both Trinity basketball teams avoided the play-in round of this week’s region 2-AA tournament, and played in the 2-v-3 matchups Thursday afternoon at Brentwood School. 

The Lady Crusaders rolled to a spot in the finals with a 57-33 win over Gatewood, but the boys were unable to follow suit as they were blown out by a shorthanded Central Fellowship squad 74-44.

After splitting two tight games with the Lady Gators in the regular season, Trinity’s girls left little to chance in this one.

The Lady Crusaders jumped out to an 18-6 lead after one quarter and never looked back. 

They pushed the lead to nearly 20 at the half as they outscored Gatewood again, 16-10, in the second quarter for a score of 34-16. 

Trinity really put the game away in the third as its defense clamped down again to hold Gatewood to just seven. The Lady Crusaders scored 16 of their own to take a commanding 50-23 lead into the fourth. 

The Lady Gators matched their best quarter with 10, while Trinity scored only seven with its bench, but the game was well in hand. 

Brinley Vinson led Trinity with 19 and Maddy George added 13 to lead the way.

The Lady Crusaders (18-8, 5-3 region 2-AA) will face Brentwood, which defeated CFCA 43-40, in the region championship game Friday night at 6 p.m. 

Despite entering the tournament on a three-game losing streak, the Crusader boys had some hope in Thursday’s semifinal because Central Fellowship’s two leading scorers are apparently no longer with the team.

Unfortunately, those hopes were dashed quickly.

The Lancers jumped out to a 21-5 lead after the first quarter, and were never challenged by the Crusaders in a rout. 

Trinity did manage 16 in the second quarter, but CFCA scored 21 again to make the score 42-21 at the half. The deficit grew even larger in the third as the Lancers outscored Trinity again, 16-8, to make it 58-29 headed to the fourth.

The last quarter was just six minutes, and while Trinity scored 15, CFCA again scored 16 to roll into the region finals, where it will take on the top seed Brentwood. 

Jagger George led Trinity with 18 and Will Foskey added nine. 

Febien Journey led a balanced Lancer attack with 14. Sirron Chambers had 13, Abram Austin had 12, Judson Walls added 11 and Deshonvaris Lundy finished with 10.

The Crusaders (10-15, 3-5 region) will now face Windsor in the third-place game, potentially needing a win to secure a spot in next week’s state tournament. 

Current rankings have them right on the bubble, one away from the cutoff in the 12-team AA bracket at No. 11.