BOURBON - LaVille Lady Hoops hit the road to renew its rivalry with former conference rival Triton at the Trojan Trench Wednesday. Behind a stingy defense, hot shooting, and an improved ability to handle pressure defense , the Lancers cruised to a 53-34 non-conference victory. "I thought the key to our good start was intensity from the tip, but also maintaining poise," said LaVille coach Nicholas Amor.  "The girls really handled Triton's pressure. Well we knew going into the game that because of our past few losses teams are going to try and press us because they see that as a sign of weakness . I thought our composure was really good. We broke the press well and we found opportunities. We moved the ball without turning it over and all those things compiled into us having a good start. On top of that, when you shoot well, as you mentioned our stats there, you're gonna be in a position to be winning. It always helps when the ball goes in the hole, but I felt like the shots that we were taking were really good open looks and that aids in shooting well." Hot shooting early by the Lancers, and their ability to handle the Trojan press, LHS got off to leads of 16-5 after one quarter and 31-10 by halftime. Senior Faith Mejer led the way with a career high 25 points, 10 rebounds, 5 steals, and 3 blocked shots for LaVille.  Ava Weil also collected her own career high with 16 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists. "I felt like Faith's energy and her ability to hit shots early on got us going from the start and then the other girls just fed off of it," explained Amor. I felt like Ava had a breakout game, was able to get to the basket, her ability to handle the ball under pressure is just getting better and better, and it was a great team win." While the offense showed marked improvement, Amor was also impressed by the team's defense. "I thought what we did the best was just taking care of the ball and rebounding. We really struggled with turnovers and allowing other teams offensive rebounds the past few games and last night we just took care of the ball. I think we had less than five turnovers in the first half which is huge for us, coming off of a loss to Adams with 37 turnovers. So taking care of the ball, letting the game come to us rather than trying to force things and seeing our open teammate were the keys to our success last night. And then defensively we were locked in communicating, great help side and then finishing with the hip to get the rebound so that they didn't get second and third chance opportunities was huge." The Lancer defense limited the Bourbon hosts to 17 points through three quarters before Triton managed to double its scoring output, mostly after LHS inserted its reserves. Triton was led offensively by Sierra Hawley and Avery Viers, who contributed seven points each. Additionally for Amor's crew, Syd Williams gave solid minutes off the bench, adding two points, four rebounds and an assist.  Madi Singleton hustled and scrapped for five points, three steals and an assist also for LaVille. Amor's club will close the 2025 portion of their schedule with six games in the next two weeks.  The Lancers play host to Indiana Northern State Conference leader and #7-rated Bremen on December 6 at 6pm.  LHS will then play a doubleheader weekend, traveling to INSC rival Knox on Dec 12 before participating against Kalamazoo Central, Michigan, in the Michiana Hoops Shootout at 12pm on Dec. 13. LaVille then finishes the first semester with a three-game homestand - Dec. 17 v. South Bend Riley, Dec. 18 opposite Culver Academy, and Dec. 20 in a make-up contest with North Miami LaVille 53 Triton 34 At Bourbon Score By Quarters LaVille 16 15 11 11 - 53 Triton 5 5 7 17 - 34 LaVille - Chesney VanTornout 0, Syd Williams 2, Faith Mejer 25, Bella Higley 0, Madi Singleton 5, Cloie Davis 0, Ava Weil 16, Ragen Strang 0, Morgan Schmidt 0, Denni Markin 5. Totals: 19 8-17 53 Triton - Savannah Hawley 7, Sierra Hawley 7, Chloe McKinney 4, Mylie Groves 2, Lydia Hammond 0, Beatriz Blanco 0, Janika Kemp 5, Jillian Bules 2, Austyn Wright 5, Avery Viers 7. Totals: 11 11-29 34 3-point field goals: LaVille 7 (Mejer 5, Weil, Markin), Triton 1 (Viers) Totals fouls (fouled out): LaVille 19 (none), Triton 17 (none) Team records: LaVille 2-5, Triton 3-3 Next game: 2A #7 Bremen at LaVille Dec 6, 6pm JV score: Triton 33 (Borsa 9, Crooks 7, Bailey 7), LaVille 29 (ot) (McQueen 11, Higley 7, Menefee 6)