The Atlantic Trojans rebounded with a dominant 58-20 road win over the Denison-Schleswig Monarchs Tuesday night. It was a much cleaner and more rounded effort for Atlantic. After opening the game on a 15-0 run, the Trojans never looked back. Their defensive pressure forced numerous turnovers, which they turned into points. Meanwhile, the Trojans were able to take advantage of their opportunities as Atlantic’s big three led the way as Makenna Schroeder, Katrina Williams, and Zoey Kirchoff all finished with double-digit points. Although the trio was out in front, nine Trojans found the scoresheet in the team effort. More importantly, however, the Trojans felt much better about their process.

Despite Atlantic’s success on offense, it took a few minutes to get going. Two minutes into the game, the Trojans had managed just a single basket. However, the floodgates eventually opened, as the Trojans scored the first 15 points of the game. The first quarter was their most prolific as the Trojans scored 22 points. Their movement with and away from the ball was solid, and although they weren’t perfect, their tenacity and defensive pressure earned them the ball back when they weren’t. Zoey Kirchoff scored seven of her team leading twelve points in the opening frame, while Peyton McLaren and Brynn Lamp each added four. Defensively, the Trojans were near perfect. They forced numerous turnovers and held Denison-Schleswig to just three as they headed to the second quarter with a 22-3 lead.

Although the offense wasn’t as explosive in the second quarter, it was still very good. The Trojans were able to get to the free-throw line with regularity as they knocked down eight of their 10 free throws. Schroeder paced the second for the Trojans with four, which included her second three-pointer of the night. All in all, you couldn’t have scripted a better first half for the Trojans. They did everything they needed to do and walked into the locker room with a 31 point lead.

Not much changed in the second half. The starters did get some time in the third quarter, which Williams took advantage of, scoring seven. However, the fourth saw both teams go to their bench. Three Trojans got on the board in the final frame. Jayden Franken knocked down two field goals, while Maddison McLaren and Jillian Saathoff each knocked down one. However, more importantly than the offense statistics, the depth players keep up their intensity on defense and continued what the Trojans started. All in all, it was a solid effort from the Trojans, not just because of the score but because of how they played, and head coach Dan Vargason said as much.

He was also happy with how Schroeder, Kirchoff, and Williams performed and said there was no panic after Friday’s loss to Treynor.

Continuing to build the depth of the bench was also a positive, as the freshmen continued to perform well.

The Trojans moved to 1-1 on the season  heading into the Thanksgiving break, and Varagason said the win was great for the team’s confidence before the time off.

Atlantic will be back in action when they host St. Albert on December 1st.