By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY

Daily News

The Troup Lady Tigers closed their summer basketball schedule by taking care of business against rival LaGrange on Wednesday afternoon.

In a game that featured two 20-minute halves with a running clock, the Lady Tigers won 47-29 as they prepare for a new season that will begin in November.

For assistant coach Veronica James, the most encouraging aspect of the summer has been the way some of the younger players have improved.

Troup went 17-9 last season with three freshmen and a sophomore starting nearly every game.

The three freshmen were Aniya Palmer, Monyia Murphy and Samarria Weldon, and the sophomore was Jada Green.

The most experienced Troup player is rising senior Amber Gilbert, a three-year starter.

Gilbert and Palmer were both first-team all-region players last season.

“We’re definitely starting to see a lot of girls progress, and build confidence, especially from our upcoming sophomores who were freshmen last year,” James said. “We’re starting to see them develop into their own. Monyia is definitely building up her confidence a lot over the summer. We’ve seen a lot of improvement out of her, and Aniya as well.”

James added that “last season even Aniya at some games she played a little bit timid. This summer, you can definitely see that they’re a lot more confident about playing with girls a little bit older than them. You can imagine being a freshmen playing against seniors. Monyia, she’s definitely getting more confident handling the ball. So we’re looking at her to handle the ball a lot more this year. Aniya, she’s a lot more physical.”

During Wednesday’s game, James was pleased with the offensive execution by the players.

“They played very well,” James said. “In two 20-minute running halves and you’re able to put up 47 points. And we played a lot better defense.”