Tri-West Bruins storm past Clovers in opener

Cloverdale sophomore Peyton Dorsett throws a pass to junior Taylor Clark (31) during a scrimmage this preseason. Clark finished the game with a team-high 11 points against Tri-West on Tuesday. (Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN)

LIZTON--The Cloverdale girls' basketball team opened up its season Tuesday night at Tri-West High School versus the Bruins. The Bruins were able to take an early, strong lead to hold off the visiting Clovers 69-19.

Tri-West started on a run that got up to 29-0 by the end of the first quarter. TWHS junior Karen Jones pushed the Clovers to their limit on the inside and on defense scoring six points, having six rebounds and three steals in the first quarter alone. She totaled 18 points, 10 rebounds (four offensive), five steals and an assist to help the Bruins in the win.

The whole Bruin team played as a unit and everyone played an important role. Their opponent, Cloverdale, looked like the inexperienced group it is.

"Tri-West is a very good and experienced team," Clovers coach Matthew Langdon said, "We are very inexperienced and are a very young team. They (Tri-West) should have the advantage."

CHS had 15 turnovers in the first half alone and 24 overall. They were only able to force three on Tri-West. Rebounding was also a big concern for the Clovers. They only had 11 (two offensive) in the first half while Tri-west had 19 (eight offensive).

"They got to us with the pressure. We have to work on the full court press and run," Langdon said.

A bright spot for the Clovers was junior Taylor Clark. She was three-of-four on 3-point attempts and had four blocks in a span of 10 minutes, though she also turned the ball over three times.

CHS had trouble shooting the ball all night. It went 2-15 in the first half and 7-31 (3-9 threes) in the game. The Bruins were 30-63 (4-11 threes) on the night.

When the Clovers started to get a little momentum, the Bruins put in 6-foot-4 sophomore Olivia Benner. She took over the inside, scoring six points and grabbing five offensive rebounds. CHS limited Benner to 3-of-8 shooting, but she was controlled the Cloverdale defense.

The Clovers show plenty of room for improvement and will have one day of practice before they play at Union (Dugger) on Thursday night.

Langdon said he thinks if their offense can get into rhythm, so will their defense, and that will give them a great shot at victory.

At Tri-West
Cloverdale........0 4 6 9 -- 19
Tri-West.........29 13 10 17 -- 69