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The Troup girls basketball team had no problems with the Wildcats of Whitewater on Tuesday night, earning a 62-25 victory for their first region win of the season.

The Troup defense, which has been the team’s bread and butter under head coach Carla Thornton, was as dominant as ever on Tuesday. The Tigers’ defense did not allow a single basket in the first quarter which allowed them to take a 28-1 lead into the second quarter.

The defense was so impenetrable that the Wildcats did not hit double figures in scoring until the 4:44 mark in the third quarter.

A large early lead allowed Thornton to tinker with different lineups and use some of her younger reserves and give bench players valuable varsity minutes.

The offense was not as effective as they were in the first quarter as some of the young players got thrown into the rotation. 

Despite the offense not being as effective over the final three quarters, it did not matter as the Tigers had built an insurmountable lead. The fourth quarter was shortened to just six minutes.

Freshman Ma’Liyah Gilbert stole the show, scoring a game-high 21 points. Her offensive explosion in the first quarter (14 points) allowed the team to build that early commanding lead. 

Gilbert was not alone as Raygen Godfrey also made her mark on the game in the early goings — scoring 10 of her 15 points in the first quarter. She also showed off the range, connecting on three 3-pointers in the game.

Jaz Williams had a quietly effective night on the offensive end with 11 points. Sheniyah Philpot kept the offense rolling out of halftime — scoring all eight of her points in the third quarter.

Troup (6-7) got its first region win of the season to improve to 1-3 in region play. The Tigers will have another important region matchup on Friday when they travel to Riverdale.