The home crowd inside Barber Gym had two reasons to cheer as the Trinity Christian Academy Lady Eagles decimated Harvest Christian, 51-9, on Friday, Dec. 6.
The first and most obvious reason was the huge win made possible by a stalwart defensive performance by TCA. The other was being on hand to witness Emily Ickert eclipse 1,500 points in her prep career with a layup midway through the third quarter.
“I’ve been coaching - I believe this is my 23rd year - and I’ve coached some pretty good players, but [Ickert] is probably the best pure shooter I’ve ever coached,” praised Lady Eagles head coach Garrett Hilton. “One thing she started doing this year is not just being a shooter, but she’s getting to the basket as well. That makes her a tough player. She’s really good!”
Ickert, only a junior at TCA, entered the game as the Lady Eagles all-time scoring leader, and 26 points shy of the 1,500-point milestone. The Lady Eagle defense started fast, creating multiple turnovers on their end of the floor, leading to quick conversions at the basket.
Ickert ended up on the scoring end of those conversions, scoring the first eight points of the game for TCA as she edged towards the milestone.
By the end of the first quarter, TCA had the game well in hand. Led by their defensive effort, the Lady Eagles outpaced Harvest Christian 23-3 in the first eight minutes, as Ickert put up 15.
The second quarter was more of the same as Harvest Christian continued to struggle against the defensive onslaught. Turnovers were commonplace, and the points were plentiful as TCA’s lead swelled from 20 points at the end of the first quarter to 32 points at the break.
“We’re trying to play fast,” Hilton said of his team’s philosophy. “We’re trying to force a few turnovers on defense, but really we’re trying to force up bad shots, get rebounds, and then get down the floor fast. We’ve got a long way to go, but we definitely did some good things.”
With the game all but over as the second half got underway, the Lady Eagles put on the cruise control. After posting a 39-point first half, the offense slowed, adding just 10 points in the third quarter.
Even with the offensive output slowing the home crowd waited with bated breath every trip down the court to see Ickert hit her mark. Midway through the third quarter, it finally happened. Following another forced turnover by the Lady Eagles defense, she raced down the court on a fast break, playing a right-handed layup off the glass for point 1,501 of her illustrious career.
Hilton immediately took a timeout as the TCA faithful erupted with applause. Mobbed with hugs and high-fives from teammates, Ickert waved to the crowd for a brief moment before putting her game face back on.
Through three quarters of play, the Lady Eagles led Harvest Christian 49-7. Both teams added a lone bucket in the fourth quarter to produce the final.
HC 3 4 0 2 - 9
TCA 23 16 10 2 - 51
TCA scoring -Emily Ickert 29, Alex Ickert 6, Raegan Smith 6, Addy Hilton 4, Ella Cockrum 4, Charlie Soule 2.
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