The Titans outscored Blue Mountain 50-14 in the 2nd and 3rd quarters in route to a 100-51 victory in day 2 of the Titan Classic.
How it happened: The had a semi-slow 1st quarter, scoring 23, but giving up 15. They scored the first six points of the game, but the Timberwolves cut the lead to two and stay attached until a Mya Thomas India three and Kylie Guelsdorf layup gave the Titans a 10 point lead. The Timberwolves shot a game-high 41.2 percent from the field and committed seven turnovers. The Titans on the other hand had their second worst shooting quarter at 45 percent. Thomas had five points off the bench and Guelsdorf had 12 points, three rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block.
The Titans again scored first and didn't allow points until the 6:30 mark of the 2nd. The Titans 23-5, but it wasn't their offense that gained them a 26 point halftime lead, it was their defense. They held the Timberwolves to 0 made field goals, but six Titan fouls led to 10 free throw attempts and their five points. The Titans offensively struggled shooting at 31.8 percent, their worst quarter, but they had eight players score and only committed two turnovers after five in the 1st.
The 3rd quarter was a better shooting version of the 2nd, shooting a game-high 55.6 percent from the field and assisting on nine of 10 made field goals. The Timberwolves were able to hold steady for the majority of the quarter despite failing to reach double-digit points, but the Titans scored the last nine points of the quarter in the last 1:27. Brooke Wheeler had her best quarter, scoring six points and grabbing four of the Timberwolves 10 rebounds. Freshman Aolani Talamaivao-Calderon had nine points and two rebounds and six Titans found the bottom of the hoop.
Despite two great quarters, the Titans finished the game the way they started, a solid shooting and scoring quarter, but too many open looks. After not scoring the entire game, Karlie Gerlinger scored 15 points on 5-6 and 3-3 from three. Gerlinger had eight of the first 10 and 15 of 20 Timberwolves points. Even though Gerlinger went off, the rest of the team only shot 2-19 and the Titans had two fewer turnovers, four more rebounds and one less foul than the 1st quarter. 18 of the Titans 27 points came from the bench including the first six points of Maddy Carrier's career.
What/who stood out: 10 of 11 Titans scored, and five of them scored in double figures. After struggling with turnovers in their season opener, the Titans only had 13, but still had 14 steals and forced 27 turnovers. Guelsdorf led all players with 20 points. She also chipped in eight rebounds, five assists, a steal and a block. Meagan Still was a menace defensively, collecting five steals. Still had 15 points, six rebounds and four assists. Emma Jones only had two points, but it wasn't her scoring the Titans needed, she added six rebounds, five assists, three steals and a block. Megan Fossen in her first start had 13 points; Talamaivao-Calderon had 13 points and eight rebounds in only 18 minutes; Thomas had 16 points, four rebounds and a steal in 20 minutes off the bench.
What it means: With a win over Centralia tomorrow, the Titans will win the tournament title.
What's next: The Titans play at 2 p.m. against Centralia. Centralia lost to Blue Mountain to open the tournament and beat Linn-Benton 62-54. Jamie Connally had 13 points, seven rebounds and three steals. All seven Blazers scored against Linn-Benton.