The Tri Titans waltzed into their game on Tuesday with six straight wins but they left with seven. They secured a 65-59 W over New Castle. Given Tri's advantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 100th, while New Castle is ranked 324th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Tri's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Nakaya Cridge led the charge by scoring 15 points along with nine rebounds and six blocks. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Cridge has scored all season. Another player making a difference was Jillian Chew, who scored 19 points along with three steals.
Despite the loss, New Castle still got an impressive performance from Emma Hart, who scored 24 points along with seven assists and five rebounds. That was a full 40.7% of New Castle's points, marking the third time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points. Devyn Ayers was another key contributor, scoring seven points.
Even though they lost, New Castle were working as a unit and finished the game with 14 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.
Tri pushed their record up to 19-2 with that win, which was their fifth straight at home. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 63.8 points per game. As for New Castle, they are on a seven-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 2-17.
Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Tri will take on Centerville at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. As for New Castle, they will be playing at home against Yorktown at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Hopefully Yorktown focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 14 on Tuesday.
