Triton Central opens season with loss at Heritage Christian

INDIANAPOLIS – In two meetings last season, Heritage Christian’s Trinity Taylor collected 18 offensive rebounds. The senior had just one Tuesday in the season opener against Class 2A, No. 15 Triton Central – and it was a big one.

With her team trailing 59-58 with less than one minute to go, Taylor grabbed a missed shot and found Kihanna Mellanson for a second go-ahead opportunity and the junior did not miss. Mellanson drained a three-pointer and Riley Johnson added on two free throws with nine seconds on the clock to secure the Class 2A, No. 12 Eagles’ sixth-straight victory over the Tigers, 63-59.

The two programs could meet again in early February at the Christel House Sectional.

“You would always rather be in the ‘W’ column but at the same time, it was great competition for game one,” said Triton Central head coach Bryan Graham, now in his 18^th season in Fairland. “A lot of mistakes. Physically, there were mistakes, but I think it was more mental. That goes back to the fact having people in different roles and doing different things. It’s all fixable and it’s all learnable. We will watch game film and get better before our game on Thursday.”

Maryrose Felling (photo) began her chase of the school scoring record with a 25-point performance on 7-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc. The University of Indianapolis commit now has 1,245 career points – 37 points shy of tying Jessica Scherer for third place and 458 points from passing Samantha Dewey’s record of 1,702 points.

Point guard Quinn King showed a more aggressive demeanor to back Felling in the scoring column. The junior guard took 18 shots, scored 16 points and added eight rebounds and three assists to her stat sheet.

“Quinn, this past summer, got in the gym a lot working on her jump shot,” said Graham. “She knows with Maryrose on the wing and whatever player we have on the other wing, it will allow her to get some looks. … I thought she missed a couple in the paint (early) she usually gets but during crunch time she really came through and had a good first game.”

Triton Central got out to a 9-4 lead following Felling’s second 3 of the opening quarter and then a pair of free throws.

Heritage Christian struggled with the Tigers’ speed and committed nine first-quarter turnovers but scored the final four points, all from the free-throw line which became a trend, to tie the game at 10-all at the first break.

The Eagles’ biggest lead of the game came in the second quarter after Johnson sank a pair of free throws and Elyse Snively drilled a long jumper to make it 23-17.

Triton Central used a 12-4 run sparked by two more 3s from Felling to take a 29-27 lead at halftime.

The third quarter started with another made 3 from Felling and a baseline drive and score from Kate Collier to extend the lead to 34-27 – Triton Central’s largest lead of the contest.

Over the final two minutes of the third quarter, Mellanson hit a 3 just ahead of Johnson draining a 3 from the corner and Johnson added two more free throws with 45 seconds left for a 45-41 advantage.

Triton Central trailed in the fourth quarter until Felling hit her final 3 and Layla Compton made the second of a pair of free throws for a 59-58 lead.

Mellanson looked for the game winner but missed only to see Taylor grab the offensive rebound and find her again for the game winner.

Mellanson finished with 15 points and five rebounds. Snively also had 15 points and eight rebounds.

Johnson, who went 11 of 12 from the free-throw line, scored a team-high 22 points and added seven rebounds.

Triton Central won the junior varsity game, 46-14.

Ryn West led the Tigers with 13 points. Madison Swisher had nine points. Five different Tigers made a 3 in the win.

Triton Central will host Greenwood Christian (0-1) Thursday and then another potential sectional opponent in No. 7-ranked Eastern Hancock (2-0) Saturday.

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