O’FALLON – For two and a half quarters Tuesday night, Troy Buchanan’s girls basketball didn’t resemble a three-time district champion.

Led by 6’2” senior Danielle Moore, the Francis Howell Vikings controlled the game on both ends of the court early in the Class 6 District 4 championship.

As Moore controlled the paint on defense and combined with guard Amya Porchia for an effective inside-outside scoring combination, the Vikings pulled ahead 29-24 midway through the third quarter.

While Troy (23-6) struggled most of the game dealing with Moore’s length inside, the Trojans attacked over and over from outside with Ava Meyers connecting with a pair of threes on consecutive possessions to give Troy a 30-29 lead with 2:53 left.

The lead exchanged hands several times over the next few minutes until Brynna Getz drilled another three from atop the key with 5:51 to play to give Troy 38-36 lead.

The Vikings tied the game on their next possession but Troy regained the lead with consecutive baskets from Ellie Moore and Ava Meyers.

Leading by four, the Trojans employed a clock management strategy, forcing the Vikings to commit fouls and send Troy to the line. Consequently, Troy made 15 of 20 attempts in the final three minutes to seal the win.

Mya Robinson led the free throw assault, connecting on nine of 10 over those three minutes.

After going scoreless the first half, Robinson broke loose with 14 in the second half to lead a balanced Trojan attack that featured eight scorers.

Led by three three’s, Meyers finished with 13 points while Ellie Moore added 10.

Moore importantly, Ellie Moore played well on defense, keeping Gracie Moore in check. While Gracie led all scorers at the time with 10 points when Troy trailed midway through the third quarter, she only managed four more points, missing several contested shots in the fourth quarter.

Other Trojans scoring included Getz (seven points), Alyssa Schulte (six), Ashlynn Meyers (four), Miley Twellman and Avery Daughtery (two each).

In addition to Gracie Moore’s 14, Porchia added 10, scoring only point in the last quarter and a half after hitting three three-pointers prior to that.

The fourth consecutive district for Troy includes a pair of wins over Fort Zumwalt West (2022 and 2024) and Timberland (2023).

Beyond the district titles, their playoff fate provided another similarity between the teams.

All three teams played Incarnate Word in the quarterfinals with a shot at the Final Four on the line and all three teams lost by 38-42 points to the eventual state champion.

And as luck would have it, Incarnate Word won their district championship again 84-68 over Lutheran St. Charles Tuesday night.

The Red Knights have won four consecutive state titles and earlier this season, set a national record with their 139th win in a row. Two games later, the top-rated high school team in the nation out of California snapped the streak.

Incarnate did lose one more game to a Kentucky school and comes into the quarterfinals with a 26-2 record.

The game’s time and location has yet to be announced.