Titans overpower Waldron to reach Class A, Sectional 59 semifinal round

Tri’s frontline size was a problem for Waldron.

Six-foot seniors Olivia Parham and Nakaya Cridge made scoring around the rim Wednesday nearly impossible. That forced the Mohawks to continue to fire away from long range, which was not ideal.

And with Jillian Chew knocking down shots at the other end of the floor, Waldron had no answer for the Titans, who eliminated the Mohawks on their home floor from Class A, Sectional 59 Wednesday, 60-39.

Tri led 52-31 after three quarters while Chew matched the Mohawks’ scoring output. She had 31 points through three quarters and finished with a game-high 33 and added five rebounds, five assists and four steals to her stat line.

Parham had 16 points and seven rebounds while Cridge scored four points, grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked five shots.

“We have to keep getting better inside,” said first-year Waldron coach Doug Laker, who battled injuries and illness all season that limited its best starting lineup to less than half a dozen games this season. “We have to be able to score inside and outside. My teams in the past, we score in the paint. You go inside then outside.”

Waldron had just 14 field goals in the game, but nine came from beyond the arc as Emerson Lindsey and Grace Fischer tried to keep their team in contention.

Fischer hit five 3s and scored 17 points while Lindsey made four 3s for 12 points.

The Mohawks were 5 for 18 inside the 3-point line and had just three free throw attempts in the loss.

Chew, a 30% shooter from beyond the arc, made a trio of 3s in the opening quarter and finished 5 of 10 from deep. The senior guard had 22 points at halftime, seven more than her season average of 15 ppg, and matched the Mohawks in scoring through three quarters.

“You just hope she is going to miss some shots, but she got rolling on us,” said Laker. “She’s a good player and they are a very good team.”

Leading by 21 points through three quarters, Chew had three assists in the final quarter while feeding Parham in the low post.

Tri (15-7) shot 49% from the field in the win and outrebounded the Mohawks, 29-16.

Tri returns to Waldron Friday for a semifinal contest against North Decatur (10-12). The Chargers defeated South Decatur Wednesday, 36-29.

Tri defeated North Decatur on Dec. 27, 39-22. Chew finished with 18 points, five rebounds and seven steals in that game.

The first semifinal game Friday pits Edinburgh (13-9) against Knightstown (15-7).

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