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It was the Troup girls basketball team that came out on top of a cross-town showdown with rival LaGrange on Thursday evening. The Tigers defeated the Grangers 59-41 in a game that was originally scheduled for Friday, but was moved up a day with inclement weather rolling in.

“Coach (Carla Thornton) always tells us to protect home court and we did that tonight,” senior Jaz Williams said. “This one feels good.”

The Tigers captured the early momentum, starting the game on a 9-2 run and eventually took an 11-4 lead after the opening quarter of play. 

The Grangers would battle back and cut the Troup lead to one score on multiple occasions in the second quarter. Troup was just able to preserve its lead heading into half as the Tigers held a 21-16 advantage.

“Our energy had to be there on defense because if the bench sees us not bringing the energy on defense then they think that will be ok,” Junior Sheniyah Philpot said.  

Troup came out of halftime meaning business and went on a 5-0 run to start the second half as the Tigers took their first double-digit lead of the game.

“We had a little bit too much energy built up and we were a little too excited and turned the ball over on offense,” Williams said. 

“We got in there, got a tough talk from coach and then we started to settle down and play better,” senior Raygen Godfrey added.

LaGrange would not go quietly into the night and eventually cut the Troup lead down to single figures right up until Bailey Goff hit a layup at the third quarter buzzer to put Troup back up by double-digits (37-27) heading to the fourth quarter. 

The Grangers were able to cut the Troup lead down to as few as seven points in the fourth quarter, but could never make a run to get back into the game.

Any chance of a LaGrange rally was officially squashed when Philpot went on a personal 7-0 run for the Tigers with under four minutes to play to put the home team up 55-37.

Philpot, who was uncharacteristically quiet through the first three quarters with just two points, exploded in the fourth with 12 points in the period.

“I just had to keep my energy levels up and try to impact the game in other ways and eventually my shot started falling,” Philpot said. 

Raygen Godfrey gave the Tigers a steady diet of offense and finished with a team-leading 16 points. The senior connected on three 3-pointers and scored at least three points in each quarter. 

Williams, a fellow senior, also produced, finishing with nine points in her final home game against the Tigers’ no. 1 rival.

“It felt good but it hasn’t really sunk in this is my final home game versus them, it probably won’t sink in until senior night,” Williams said. 

Peyton Swint led the Grangers in scoring with 16 points. Madisyn Booker also had a solid offensive showing and finished with 14 points. 

Troup improved to 10-4 overall and 6-2 in region play. This served as a nice bounce back after the team had lost its last two games. 

The Tigers were set to return to action on Saturday away to Heard County, but inclement weather moving in caused the game to be postponed. Instead, Troup will travel to take on Mary Persons on Tuesday in a region matchup for their next contest. 

LaGrange fell to 4-12 overall and 1-7 in the region. The Grangers will host Sandy Creek next Tuesday for a region matchup.