Athens holds off Troy for 45-43 victory

TROY >> Twice, visiting Troy was left for dead − no chance in the world of coming back against cross-town rival Troy Athens Thursday night.

But twice the Colts made comeback bids, making the home crowd a bit nervous.

In the end, however, the host Red Hawks had the answer − or answers − and held on to defeat the Colts, 45-43, in a battle between OAA White foes. Senior Madelaine Crum and younger sister, Isabelle Crum, scored 14 points each and helped their team hold off late rallies by visiting Troy.

PHOTO GALLERY FROM TROY ATHENS VS. TROY

Using an imposing full-court press, Troy Athens doubled up the Colts in the first half, taking a 22-11 lead into halftime. Troy adjusted and went on an 8-1 run to open the second half and close the lead to four points. But back-to-back lay-ups by Isabelle Crum, followed up minutes later by back-to-back 3-pointers by Madelaine Crum, helped the Red Hawks build their lead back up to 11 points, at 35-24.

“At the end of the game, we want the ball to be in (the Crums’) hands and we were able to do that,” Troy Athens coach Stacie Klumpp said. “And Stephanie Preda stepped up for us at the end, huge free throws for us.”

Troy used a 12-0 run to trim what had been a 14-point lead with five minutes to play down to just two points, at 43-41, with 46.5 seconds remaining. Junior Emily Olson accounted for eight of those points.

But Preda, who was fouled with 12.4 seconds to play, calmly hit two clutch free throws to all but seal the win for the Red Hawks, who stymied the Colts all game long with their potent full-court press and tight defense.

“We’ve said all year, and it’s no secret to teams that scout us, that our defense is our best offense,” Klumpp said. “Our big goal this game was to take away the middle and the girls did a great job with that.”

Senior Julia Lower scored all six of her points in the first half for Athens, which improved to 5-9 overall and 3-6 in the White division. Olson led the way for Troy, scoring 11 of her game-high 16 points in the fourth quarter. Sophomore Athena Samson added 11 for the Colts, who dropped to 5-9 overall and 2-7 in the division.