Avery Johnson
After a 13-1 start to the girls basketball season, Columbus North had hit a bit of a snag, losing four consecutive games to quality opponents.
Saturday, the Bull Dogs got back in the win column. They used a big first half to propel themselves to a 60-36 win against Whiteland.
“I thought it was a much-needed win,” sophomore Avery Johnson said. “We just needed something to get us back on track and going.”
Johnson broke out of a shooting slump to hit three 3-pointers lead North (14-5) with a game-high 15 points.
“That definitely felt nice because I’ve definitely been in a shooting slump,” Johnson said. “It was nice just to put some in and get my confidence back on the 3s.”
Kaylie Harmon
Fellow sophomore Kaylie Harmon also hit three 3s and scored 14 points for the Bull Dogs.
“It’s nice to come into this game with the mindset that we want to get off that track and start a new winning streak,” Harmon said. “I think home floor, we’re excited to be back, but just having confidence in ourselves, we’re trying to pick each other up.”
The Warriors (5-12) led 4-3 early before North scored 15 straight points to take an 18-4 lead. The Bull Dogs built the advantage to 39-17 at halftime.
“I thought we did a pretty good job of getting some inside-out shots, and that’s usually when we’re most effective — when we get some paint touches, as opposed to just perimeter-to-perimeter passes and then shots,” North coach Brett White said. “So I thought that was leading to a higher percentage when we shot the ball.”
Ava Wilson scored 11 points, and Kenna Conrad added eight for North. Audrey Nordman led the Bull Dogs with five rebounds.
North turned the ball over only six times and forced 24 Whiteland turnovers. Of the Bull Dogs’ six miscues, just two came in the first half and the last two came in the final two minutes with the starters out of the game.
“I thought we shared the basketball well, we cut down on our turnovers, took care of the basketball,” White said. “Our press was pretty good. We got some easy baskets off of that, and we talked about running, and I think we did a good job of that, as well.”
North now has beaten each of the other four teams in its sectional by at least 14 points.
“It’s always good to get a little more confidence after a win,” White said. “A couple of the games that we lost, we felt like we were competing in and just couldn’t get over the hump, so it was good to get over the hump today.”
Columbus North 60, Whiteland 36
Whiteland;4;13;12;7;—;36
Columbus North;13;26;12;9;—;60
Whiteland (5-12): Isa Mendez 0 0-0 0, Ella Davis 0 0-0 0, Samantha Roadruck 3 0-1 7, Marin Koch 0 0-0 0, Brynlee Moore 0 0-0 0, Aurora Lightfood 0 0-0 0, Sarah Gilmour 1 0-0 2, Sophia Dyer 5 3-4 13, Anna Grills 0 0-0 0, Lilly Boner 2 0-0 5, Bryanna Gillock 4 1-2 9. Totals: 15 4-7 36.
Columbus North (14-5): Kenna Conrad 3 0-0 8, Ava Wilson 5 0-0 11, Hadassah Hurt 1 4-4 6, Riley Sims 0 0-0 0, Sydni Schiefer 1 0-0 2, Audrey Nordman 0 0-0 0, Kaylie Harmon 4 3-3 14, Paige Terry 1 0-2 2, Avery Johnson 5 2-3 15, Sydney Johnson 1 0-0 2, Addy Dean 0 0-0 0, Addy Wheatley 0 0-0 0, Emma Beaver 0 0-0 0. Totals: 21 9-12 60.
3-point goals: Whiteland 2 (Roadruck, Boner). Columbus North 9 (Harmon 3, A. Johnson 3, Conrad 2, Wilson).
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