Rankin's 41-points leads Trojans to rout of Sauk Valley

Triton College women's basketball standout Jayla Rankin showed once again why she is arguably the best guard in the Region 4 during the Trojans 105-56 drubbing of Sauk Valley Community College Jan. 10 in Dixon.

The win is the sixth in a row for Triton who is back over.500 with a 9-8 record.

The sophomore from Milwaukee came out of the gate on fire scoring 19 of her career-high 41 points in the opening quarter. Rankin cashed in on her first six attempts from long range to spark Triton to a fast 18-point lead and the Trojans cruised from there.

Rankin shot 15-of-21 from the field including a blistering 9-of-11 from three-point range. The nine threes made tied a single-game school record first set by another Milwaukee product, Linarys Burnett-Romero in 2021 against Bay College.

Currently, Rankin is No. 4 in the nation is scoring among NJCAA DI programs averaging 21.1 ppg. She has scored at least 20 points in each of six games during the Trojans current win streak.

Triton shot a season best 57 percent from the field (39-68) and were 18-of-30 from the three, falling one three short of equaling the single-game record for most three's made as a team.

The Trojans offense was running on all cylinders as the team recorded 30 assists out of their 39 made buckets.

Sophomore guard Jada Branch tied the single-game assist record with 14 helpers, matching the mark held by Chiquita Ellis vs. Olive-Harvey in 2008. Branch added 10 points to record his first career double-double.

Sophomore guard Jazzmine Smith poured in 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field, including four threes. Sophomore Mariah Phelps had another solid showing with a double-double herself with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Triton swept the season series from Sauk Valley (3-11) winning the first meeting in River Grove 75-47 on Dec. 9. The Trojans are 8-0 in Region 4 Division I games and look to keep the winning ways going on Tuesday (Jan. 13) when they visit Truman College in Chicago for a 5 p.m. tip.
 
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