The win makes LaGrange 13-3 on the season and 3-2 in the region.
Troup is now 0-11 and 0-6 in the region.
It was a tough night all-around for Troup, which lost the game, and senior forward Jessica Gilbert, who went down early in the first half with a knee injury and left the game only to return later with an ice pack secured around her right knee as she stretched out at the end of the team’s bench.
“She probably won’t get to the doctor until Monday,” Troup coach Carla Thornton said of Gilbert. “Her knee popped. She says she thinks it popped back into place, so we’re going to pray for the best. You hate for somebody to go out like that, especially their senior year, so we’re going to pray for her and we’re going to go out and play hard for the rest of these games until we get her back.”
Troup started off playing the Grangers competitively, scoring the game’s first five points.
But with 3:40 left in the opening period, Gilbert was driving on the right side of her own lane when she became tangled in a crowd of players and hit the floor.
She was helped off the floor by team personnel and her father, George Gilbert, and taken back to the training room for evaluation.
LaGrange took the lead shortly thereafter and never looked back.
LaGrange led after the first quarter 15-5 and 39-14 at the half before taking a 64-18 lead after the third quarter.
By that time, LaGrange head coach Jan Jones was substituting frequently, finally pulling her starters midway through the third. The Tigers only scored one bucket in the fourth quarter and that didn’t drop until the final horn.
Jones said her team was able to accomplish a few things it can use for the remainder of the season.
“It’s a win, obviously that’s good so anytime we can get a region win on the road is good,” Jones said. “I was able to rotate a lot of players in which can help us in the long run. We’ve got to get a little bit deeper to be a be able to compete against Sandy Creek and Fayette County, so I was able to rotate some off the bench to give them a little bit more experience on the floor so that hopefully will help us match up better with the Sandy Creeks, the Fayette Countys, Carrollton, Columbus, all those teams. That will help.”
Thornton was able to rotate much of her bench into the game and give her players some game time.
“The young girls stepped up,” Thornton commented. “They didn’t complain or make excuses. They went out there and tried their best to execute. Like I said, most of the LaGrange girls are seniors. Like I told them, they’ll be gone next year so just learn right now. The group we played against there at the end, that’s probably who we will be playing against next year.”
For Troup, Dee Dee Sanders led the scoring with nine points.
Brittany Tatum led the scoring for LaGrange with a game-high 21 points, and Steara Mitchell had 13.
Both teams are off until Tuesday.
LaGrange will host Carrollton in another region game, and Troup visits Shaw.
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