That was on display Saturday afternoon when the Indians defeated visiting Chaney, 54-32.

Freshman Sieasia Triplett scored 11 of her game-high 17 points in the fourth quarter to help Girard pull away after Chaney trimmed its 16-point second-half deficit to eight points early in the fourth quarter.

“Sieasia is just a freshman and we just moved her to the point guard because we were turning the ball over too much,” veteran Indians coach Andrew Saxon said. “She did a great job. She made a few mistakes out there, but you expect that with a freshman. The thing is, her decision-making will continue to improve as we move along and she gets comfortable running the point.

“She’s got tough skin, she’s really quick and she has a good eye for the game. She sees the floor really well for someone her age and she can handle the basketball, which is what we’re looking for. She also is a great defender because of her quick feet. She’s just athletic and fast. You watch, she’ll be a state champ in track and field before she’s done. Trust me.”

Staff photo / Brad Emerine Girard’s Marissa Cave draw a third-quarter charge against Chaney’s Atanasia Crockett during the Indians’ 54-32 home victory Saturday afternoon.

The Cowboys trailed 27-13 at halftime and were down by 16 points during the third quarter before entering the fourth behind 35-25. They scored the first bucket of the fourth quarter before Triplett took over. She scored Girard’s first seven points, got an assist on Jalaya Brown’s layup and added her own layup.

Triplett scored or assisted on her team’s first 11 points of the quarter to offset a 3-pointer by Chaney’s Laionia Williams as the hosts took a 46-30 cushion. Marissa Cave’s putback and a layup by Triplett all but sealed the deal at 50-30.

Girard moved to 3-7 overall with the non-league win and Chaney dipped to 1-7 with its second consecutive setback after beating Hubbard on Dec. 14.

“Although we got close before (Girard) pulled away, I definitely was not pleased with the way we finished or the way we played in the first half,” Chaney coach Kaneesha Ford said. “This was a game where I felt we should have been able to compete better. The fact that we didn’t means we may have to go back to the drawing board and figure out what else we need to do.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad we cut the lead down, but that shows our inconsistency. The fact that we didn’t finish and remain competitive the rest of the game was disappointing. When we find something that is working, we need to stick with it and finish strong. We’re just really trying to get everybody on the same page. We need to work out some of the kinks so that we can get some consistency from the girls.”

It didn’t help Chaney’s cause that guard Atanasia Crockett fouled out with 2:47 left in the third quarter and that post player JaTava Robinson fouled out 20 seconds into the fourth period. Crockett is one of the team’s leading scorers, along with point guard Cazhia Jackson. Crockett finished with seven points and Jackson had a team-high 16 points.

“Cazhia is an awesome player,” Ford said. “She’s always motivated and makes sure she does her best. She doesn’t let anything get our spirits down. She’s there for the team trying to help in anyway possible and as much as she can. I couldn’t ask for anything more from her.

“Atanasia plays very aggressive and she had a few bad fouls today and also got one or two on charges. It wasn’t a great day for her, but she’s pretty concrete.”

While Triplett dominated the fourth quarter, she was aided throughout the game by several teammates. Junior Sophie Griffith finished with nine points, all on 3-pointers. Lindsay Cave, the team’s only starting senior, and juniors Marissa Cave and Brown added eight points apiece.

“I like where we’re at, but we need to continue to build and grow,” Saxon said. “We’ve got a ton of underclassmen that we can potentially see great things from in the near future. We’ve got a really good JV team and hopefully we’ll be in position to turn this around next year or the year after.”