Trojans tie school record with 15th straight win

Of all the crazy numbers racked up during the Triton College women's basketball game against rival Olive-Harvey College Tuesday (Feb. 10) at the Jorndt Athletic Complex gymnasium, only this short line really mattered:

Fifty-eight percent free-throw shooter Charity Anderson's two free throws with 4.5 seconds left gave the Trojans a 64-63 victory to tie the school's all-time winning streak at 15, set by the 1982-83 team.

The pressure was withering after star Jayla Rankin missed two free throws seconds earlier with Anderson being fouled pulling down the rebound on the latter miss.

"All I thought about was making one shot," said Anderson, a local product out of Proviso West High School who transferred this season from Judson University." It was so relaxing (the second free-throw attempt)."

How Anderson could be mentally even-keel with any gas left in the tank is yet another story of the wild numbers. After Alivia Brown fouled out with 4:30 to play, Triton (18-8) was down to five players, including two playing with four fouls each and a somewhat hobbling Rankin. That stout quintet had to withstand everything Olive-Harvey (15-9), led by game-high scorer Khadijah Phillips (26 points), threw at them.

Coach Drew Winston knew all too well the numbers were trending against him and his players tying the all-time streak. He was down to six players when Kyra Paul fouled out with seven minutes to go.

"We were trying to get the game over," Winston said of his short-handed roster, which opened the game with seven eligible players with Jazzmine Smith sitting due to injury and both Rankin and Mariah Phelps who were questionable to play but gutted it out for the team. "We were up 10, we're looking at the clock, and I'm thinking what's taking this game so long (to finish)?"

What did not take long was for the Trojans' 10-point lead at the six-minute mark to vanish. With 17 second-half points and only missing one of her 10 shots for the game, Phillips led a lightning-fast 12-0 run in two minutes that gave the Panthers a 57-55 lead. The hosts were knocked down – but not out.

Jocelyn Tibbetts nailed a three-pointer to get the lead back for Triton. The teams then traded baskets until Phillips' short jumper gave Olive-Harvey a 63-62 lead with 13.4 seconds left before Anderson's ice-man performance.

"We just had to stay poised," Anderson said. "We had to make a statement. We're the No. 1 team (in Region 4)."

Added Winston: "We were beat up. I saw we were laboring. Jayla had a bad knee. But they never quit and never gave up."

The numbers were all wrong for a historic win for the first half, which completed with Triton trailing 30-25. The Trojans shot just 29 percent overall, were 1-for-10 shooting three-pointers and were 6-for-13 from the free-throw line.

But then Phelps playing through her pain, caught fire after halftime. Just 1-for-8 shooting in the first half, Phelps connected on three of five three-point attempts in the third quarter as the Trojans outscored the Panthers 22-13. Her fourth trey early in the fourth quarter boosted the lead to 51-45.

"Mariah's so strong," said Anderson. "She's a great player to play with."

Phelps led with the Trojans with 16 points with nine rebounds. Brown had 13 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Rankin had 12 points despite her aches and pains logged 32 minutes on the floor.

The frenetic finish was fitting for the top two ranked teams in Region 4 Division I. Triton is No. 1 while Olive-Harvey is No. 2. In 2025, Olive-Harvey defeated Triton in the Region 4 Division I championship game.

"It means a legacy," Anderson said of winning 15 in a row. "We have an amazing coach to ride with."

This year's Trojans have a chance to set a new legacy as they go for a school record setting 16^th win in a row when they face Bryant & Stratton College Saturday (Feb. 14) in Milwaukee.

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(Story by tritonathletics.com contributor George Castle)