With a quick turnaround following a hard-fought overtime loss against top 5 ranked Hamilton Southeastern, the girls basketball team hopes to give themselves an early boost in the county tournament. After a bye in the first round, the Trojans will face Whiteland in the semifinals tonight.

In the first round of the tournament, Whiteland posted a convincing 71-30 victory over Edinburgh. Despite a 2-3 record, the Warriors have won their last three games after starting the season 0-2. Junior guard Aubrie Booker understands the importance of coming into the game mentally prepared for a tough Whiteland team and a different style of basketball than what the Trojans last faced in HSE.

“Our mindset will need to change slightly when playing in the county tournament because county teams play a different style of basketball than HSE,” Booker said. “I think the most important thing for us to do on Thursday is focus on the scouting report and work on changing our mind-set to winning a county championship.”

Learning the opponent is a significant piece that goes into the preparation for a game. Senior guard Ella Hobson knows what the team needs to do off the court in order to give them the best chance at victory.

“Wednesday, we’ll go into practice, and we have film on all the county teams that we can study,” Hobson said. “Coach Stuckmeyer knows all the county teams, their plays and their actions, so if we walk through all of that, if we guard the way we always do, we’ll be able to beat whoever we’re asked to play.”

The Trojans are led offensively by junior guard Audrey Annee. Annee is averaging 14.5 points per game through the first four games of the season. Her output on offense will be a key factor in the team’s success during the tournament.

“I have to keep looking for opportunities to score, but I have to keep passing the ball, giving other people the opportunity to score as well,” Annee said. “I need to stay confident in my ability to shoot and hit shots.”

Winning Thursday is only half the battle for the Trojans. A victory tonight will set up a probable matchup with 3A No. 6 Indian Creek, which defeated last year’s state runner-up Franklin earlier this week in the quarterfinals.