By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY

Daily News

New building, same winning result for the Troup Lady Tigers.

In the first game in Troup High’s brand-new gymnasium, an unbeaten Troup team overwhelmed LaGrange 54-22 on Friday night.

Before a standing-room only crowd, Troup eased to its 13th consecutive win while improving to 3-0 in Region 5-AAAA.

If there were any nerves playing in the sparkling new gym, it didn’t show.

The Lady Tigers took control about four minutes into the game, and they were ahead 16-8 after the first quarter.

Troup was on top 39-18 at the half, and it continued to pull away from LaGrange in the final two quarters.

“We weren’t our normal selves because of the crowd, and because of everything that was going on tonight,” said Carla Thornton, Troup’s head coach. “I thought we calmed down a little bit more in the second half and started doing what we needed to do.”

Thornton added that “communication was hard tonight because it was so loud. That’s something we’ve got to work on.”

It was a tough night for LaGrange, which fell to 0-4 in the region.

“I thought we did some good things, and they did some really good things themselves,” said Stephen Tuck, LaGrange’s head coach. “It’s one of those learning experiences.”

It was tied 6-6 midway through the first quarter when Troup went on a 10-2 run to build an eight-point lead lead.

Palmer helped Troup get off to a quick start with six first-quarter points.

The offensive production fell off a bit in the second quarter for the Lady Tigers, but they still had a comfortable 27-12 lead at the half.

Troup continued to pull away in the third quarter, and it was ahead 39-18 heading to the final quarter.

Troup outscored LaGrange 15-4 in the fourth quarter to win going away.

“They jumped out early, and then we just couldn’t hit some shots,” Tuck said. “I thought we got some good shots, especially in the third quarter, they just wouldn’t fall. One thing we continued to preach was continue to get good shots.”

It’ll be a quick turnaround for LaGrange, which hosts Sandy Creek at 11 a.m. on Saturday.

Troup’s game with Cedartown on Saturday has been postponed.