Posted on January 7, 2016.
By Thomas Sellers Jr.
Marquisha Sanders
COLLIERVILLE — A good half here and a solid 16 minutes here didn’t produce a win for the Millington Lady Trojans heading into Day Three of the 2015 Collierville Dragon Fire Invitational. On Dec. 29, the Lady Trojans stepped onto the court of the Collierville Gymnasium looking to beat old District 14-3A rivals the Bolton Lady Wildcats. A sluggish first half helped the Lady Wildcats jump ahead 43-18 by halftime. Millington outscored Bolton 30-27 in the second half, but it was too late with the Lady Wildcats prevailing 70-48. “We’re still looking to put four quarters together,” Millington Head Coach Bruce Marshall said. “The first game we had a good first half. The last two games, we’ve had good second halves.” Millington took on host the Collierville Lady Dragons to open the 2015 Dragon Fire Invitational. After falling to Collierville, the Marion Lady Patriots outlasted the Lady Trojans setting up the Bolton game. Lady Wildcats Head Coach John Perkins didn’t need a scouting report on Millington with both teams being foes in the same district for several years. Millington had moved to District 15-2A this season, while Bolton remains in District 14-3A. Last week’s match up was a chance for standouts like Bolton’s Heaven Thompson, Toni Green and Kerrice Watson to share the court with Millington’s Tamia Aldridge, Jherika Brown and Glenda Garner. After Garner opened the game with a put-back bucket to make the score 2-2, Bolton seized control of the game with a 16-0 run. During that stretch, Thompson made a layup and hit a jumper to make the score 6-2. Then Green drove to the rim for bucket and a foul. Her three-point play made the score 9-2. Later Green put Bolton ahead by double figures with a layup. The score became 18-2 with a pair of Green free throws. Aldridge ended Millington’s drought with a layup late in the first quarter. The Lady Trojans were down 21-7 after a Brown three-pointer. Before the opening quarter concluded, the Millington faithful were treated to a “LeBron James” moment when Aldridge blocked a Bolton layup attempt. Within the blink of an eye, Aldridge gathered the loose ball and started a fast break. The junior forward located Brown racing up the floor with a laser pass. Brown caught the lead pass in stride for a layup and foul. Although Brown missed the foul shot, the Black and Gold fans had something to cheer about. Despite that moment, Bolton won the quarter 23-9. The Lady Wildcats also outscored Millington in the second period 20-9. The Lady Trojans did see flashes of positive play from sophomore forward Tazerria House. She hit free throws and made a layup courtesy of a pass from teammate Trevona DeSouza. Meanwhile the Lady Wildcats were paced by Watson to build a 43-18 advantage. In the second half, Aldridge displayed her all-around game with drives to the basket for layups. In the process, Garner stepped outside the paint hitting two three-pointers. The final day of the Dragon Fire was Dec. 30 and Millington concluded things with Westwood. Now it is time for the Lady Trojans to step back into league play.
“The biggest thing for us is getting to a point we can play four consistent quarters,” Marshall concluded. “That’s what it will take for us to be successful in district. First we have to play together and be on the same page. We can’t play with personal agendas. We have to come together.”
