Troup earns shot at region championship

Published 1:30 am Saturday, February 20, 2021

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By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY

Daily News

The Troup Lady Tigers are in familiar territory.

The Lady Tigers have reached a region-championship game for the third consecutive season, and they’re hoping this will be the year they get over the hump.

Troup, which lost to Sandy Creek in the Region 5-AAAA title games in 2019 and 2020, will host Carver on Saturday at 5 p.m. in the Region 2-AAAA championship game.

Troup earned its title shot with a 64-35 over Kendrick on Friday, while Carver eased past Hardaway in the other semifinal game at LaGrange High.

This will be the first meeting of the season between Troup and Carver since they didn’t play in the regular season because of COVID-19 issues.

Troup beat Kendrick by nearly 40 points in the regular season, and it was more of the same on Friday night.

Freshman Angie Dowdell led the Lady Tigers with 15 points, while Aniya Palmer added 13 points and was 5-of-5 from the free-throw line.

Jada Green knocked down a 3-pointer and contributed nine points, Alexcia Murphy added eight points, Emelie Reed made a 3-pointer and scored seven points, and Monyia Murphy chipped in with six points.

The game was tied 4-4 when the Lady Tigers went on an 8-0 run that included back-to-back baskets by Palmer, and they were ahead 16-6 as the first quarter came to a close.

Kendrick made a move in the second quarter and got within six points, but a Dowdell basket jump-started a 12-1 run that gave Troup a 30-13 lead at the half.

The Lady Tigers, with a smothering defense creating all sorts of issues, continued to stretch the lead in the third quarter to go up 48-25.

The Lady Tigers continued to pull away in the fourth quarter, and everyone on the roster got to see some time on the court.