Trinity girls win 41st straight home game

DARLINGTON — The gymnasium floor at Trinity Collegiate School is unlike any other in the Pee Dee.

The gray tile is adorned with purple along the free throw lines heading toward both baskets. The walls are covered with banners from past region and state championships from every sport.

To the fans that come to every game, this is Titan country. And to opposing girls basketball teams, it’s a place they come to lose.

By a score of 51-25 over Carolina Academy Monday night, Trinity’s girls won for the 41st straight time at home.

“We have a lot of intensity, but we have a lot of enthusiasm,” said senior forward Ashton Avent, who scored 10 points in the win. “We love the challenge (of defending the streak).”

Trinity’s Natalie Hahn led all scorers with 14 points. Rebecca Leviner, Lindsey Zubel and Mary Stuart Jernigan each added nine points with Jernigan also pulling down 19 rebounds.

The win moves Trinity to 20-5 overall and 11-1 in SCISA Region 4-2A.

Carolina Academy coach Edgar Baker thinks the Titans are the front-runners to win the SCISA Class 2A state championship.

“(The Titans) have just got a very good team. They play so well together ... ” said Baker, whose team falls to 5-13 overall and 1-11 in SCISA Region 4-2A. “When you come in (the Titans’ gym), you know you’re gonna be pressured like no one else because they are so experienced.”

Home-court advantage
Trinity’s gym floor is made of removable tiles called Sport Court. Trinity Collegiate School is one of the few facilities in the state that uses the surface, which was invented to prevent injuries.

And while Trinity coach David Rector doesn’t believe the floor has contributed to any wins during the Titans’ run, it can contribute to future victories.

“The state tournament (at the Sumter County Exhibition Center) is played on the same type of floor as we have,” he said. “I don’t know if that’s helped us with the streak, but it does help us come tournament time.”

Avent thinks the surface can be used to her team’s advantage.

“The floor definitely helps,” she said. “We’ve been able to control the floor and (contain the streak) by playing good defense.”

A legacy
Throughout the home-winning streak, Titan players have set several individual milestones.

Leviner earned her 1,000th career point earlier this season, and Zubel set a career record for steals with 324.

“I’ve really enjoyed playing for coach Rector,” Leviner said. “The 1,000 points wasn’t an individual goal but a team mark because without them, I wouldn’t have gotten them.”

Said Zubel, “It’s a lot more exciting to play (at home) when you have your family and friends cheering for you. It’s easier to play your kind of game.”

With her performance Monday night, Jernigan raised her rebounding total to 272, a single-season school record. Avent is second on the Titans’ all-time list with 264 career steals.

“This is the most unselfish group I’ve ever had,” Rector said. “They make my job easier and it’s fun to coach them.”

No pressure
Surprisingly, the Titans were oblivious to the streak until recently.

“I didn’t tell the girls about the streak until about three weeks ago,” Rector said. “We’ve attributed the streak to the fans and our senior class, as well as our underclassmen.”

Rector added knowing about the winning streak could add pressure to his squad, but believes his players can handle it.

“I think, at times, they do feel the pressure,” he said. “It was Senior Night (tonight), and we came out a little sluggish. They calmed down and took Carolina’s best shot.”

No group feels the pressure more than Jernigan and her fellow underclassmen.

“There’s going to be a lot of pressure on us because I’ll be here another year,” Jernigan said. “We, as underclassmen, don’t want to let the school down by being the first ones to lose because we have a legacy here now.”

What the future holds
Trinity looks to extend its streak on Thursday when the Titans open the Region 4-2A tournament at home against Carolina. As the region co-champions, they know they will probably see Pee Dee Academy — which handed the Titans their lone region loss — at least one more time.

“We know we can beat teams like Pee Dee at home because we’ve dominated them here,” Zubel said. “We know it’s gonna be a tight game the next time we see them.”

Leviner added the truest legacy for her team is to bring home the Class 2A title, a goal the Titans have come close to obtaining, but have always fallen short.

“Coach Rector has always told us if we work hard, we’ll reach our goals and we’ve done that,” she said. “Hopefully we’ll win a state title this year.”