After a slow start, the Pleasantville girls basketball squad turned up the defensive pressure and pulled away in a 53-39 win over fellow Marion County squad Twin Cedars. The Trojans forced ten-first half Saber turnovers and used that to build a lead that would not get below 12 the rest of the way. The Sabers settled down in the second half and got the lead down to 12 but got no closer. Malorie McKinney led Pleasantville with 13 points while Adi Adreon scored eight. Brooke Roby led the Sabers with 16 points while Cheyanne Bruns had ten. Kisha Reed pulled down ten rebounds in the loss. Twin Cedars is now 1-2 on the season and will join the boys on the road tonight in Murray. Pleasantville improves to 3-1 on the season and will travel to Earlham to open up West Central Conference play tonight along with the boys. The Trojan boys meanwhile, are coming off a 51 point win over Melcher-Dallas on Tuesday. Coach Tom Wilkins tells KNIA/KRLS Sports he hopes his improved defense will help his players get off to a strong start in conference play.

Wilkins: “Our defense in what I’ve seen in the scrimmage and first game, is not even close to last year. If we can play defense then I’ll like our chances. They lost their best shooter from last year, but they still have the Meacham kid, who’s a really good point guard.”

Action gets underway with the girls game at 6:15. Listen for the call on kniakrls.com KNIA3 starting with the pregame at six.