John Glenn defenders collapse on Triton’s Hannah Wanemacher in a 70-41 Falcons rout Friday night. (Photos by Mike Deak)

BOURBON – Triton knew the start to its girls basketball season could be pressing, but John Glenn took that to another level Friday night.

John Glenn instituted a suffocating full court press that Triton couldn’t figure out in a 70-41 result in the season opener for both clubs at the Trench.

From the opening possession, Glenn did everything it could to press whoever had the ball, wherever they were on the court. Triton, which had just five full practices together as the volleyball crew were coming into a third straight truncated season from a regional run, didn’t adjust. At 13-9 Glenn, the game hadn’t gotten away from the hosts. But it was about to.

Triton’s Courtney Jennings and John Glenn’s Mariah Plunkett.

Bethany Hayden nailed a three, and the Falcons then got a steal and offensive putback from Mariah Plunkett. That 5-0 burst forced Adam Heckaman into a timeout to regroup his Trojans. But, instead of adjusting, Glenn’s pressure forced Triton into three straight turnovers, culminating with a three-pointer from Plunkett.

All of a sudden, it was 21-9.

“Glenn has some great shooters,” noted Heckaman. “They are quick. They can drive. I knew if we couldn’t keep up in their zone, we were probably going to be in trouble. We knew that we weren’t going to match up man to man. We have some bigger girls out there that do a good job in the post, but as far as trying to bring them out to cover guards on the perimeter, we just didn’t match up well in that aspect.”

Glenn continued its defensive game plan and posted a 17-3 edge in the second quarter, putting a bow on what was an impressive showing for week one. The Falcons forced Triton into 14 first-half turnovers and 21 overall, but also made the handywork stand up on the offensive end.

Plunkett was hot in the first quarter, scoring 14 of her game-high 20 points, and sister Morgan Plunkett found her shooting touch from the outside, nailing four three-pointers to finish with 13 points.

Grace College recruit Kyannah Stull had 15 points, five assists and seven steals.

Grace College recruit Kyannah Stull was very effective, recording 15 points, five assists and seven steals while Lady Lancer coaches Scott Blum and Ray Davis looked on from the stands in between games at Purdue Northwest this weekend.

Bethany Hayden added 11 points and three assists for the Falcons.

Triton, once it finally settled in, did show flashes of the team that won the Hoosier North Athletic Conference a season ago. The outgoing volleyballers made up the starting five for Triton on opening night and did a bulk of the stat work. Hannah Wanemacher would hit three from deep and finish with 11 points to lead the Trojans, and Charlotte Morris had 10 points and three boards. Nicole Sechrist had eight points, five boards, a block and steal.

“We didn’t have a lot of time to recover, but the frustrating thing about tonight was that we played a very good team and some of the simple things that our juniors should know by now we weren’t doing in the press early on,” Heckaman stated. “We weren’t cutting to the middle like we wanted the ball, we were staying opposite of it. That hurt us early on. Once they settled in and started to play, we did a lot better in the second half.”

The skating will get no easier for Triton next time out Tuesday, having to visit Class 1-A state runner-up Argos (1-0) in their home opener. John Glenn plays Saturday evening at Knox.

“It’s going to be a tough game,” Heckaman said of Argos. “It definitely will be a test for us to go there to try to hang with them. It will be a good experience for us and give us an eye of what we need to really work for.”

Triton’s Nicole Sechrist is hounded by John Glenn’s Mariah Plunkett.