The Atlantic Trojans Girls basketball team lost a physical matchup 55-29 to the Saint Albert Saintes on Thursday night in Council Bluffs. In the first quarter both squads came to play as the game continued to go back and forth with neither team able to break through. The inaugural basket of the night was a three pointer by Makenna Schroeder to give Atlantic the early lead. The game followed suit and the first quarter ended in a 11-11 draw.

That tie continued well into the second quarter with neither team able to score until the Trojans broke through with another three pointer to go up 14-11. Midway through the second, the Saintes finally created some momentum with passes inside the paint to Avah Underwood to go up 21-18 at halftime.

The start of the third quarter is where things began to slip for Atlantic. The intensity of the game seemed to increase along with the pressure from the St. Albert full court press. Those combined into a string of turnovers for the Trojans and more scoring opportunities for Maura Ryan. Ryan with Underwood helped create a 13 point to put St. Albert up 34-20. The Trojans did manage to have one more basket before the end of the third, but were still down 34-23 with eight minutes left to go.

Atlantic’s troubles did not stop at the top of the fourth as another occurred for the Saintes, this time a 10-0 run creating a 48-25 lead. That gap would be too big for the Trojans to overcome and the Trojans would drop the game 55-29.

The Trojans leading scorers on the night were Schroeder and Payton Harter with each having 7 points. When reflecting back on Thursday’s loss, Atlantic head coach Dan Vargason noted that the slow start at the beginning of the second half is where the loss started.

Coach Vargason did like the way his squad continued to stay tenacious defensively throughout all four quarters.

The Trojans next game will be at home this Friday against the Glenwood Rams. Coach Vargason is hoping to see more physicality and more forced turnovers from his team.

St. Albert was led in scoring by Avah Underwood and Maura Ryan with 15 points. The Saintes next game is tomorrow against the Clarinda Cardinals.