Columbus East’s Averie Graham, from left, Columbus East’s Lola Watkins and Columbus North’s Avery Johnson dive for a loose ball during a high school basketball game at Columbus East High School in Columbus, Ind., Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. North defeated their crosstown rivals 62-33.
Mike Wolanin | The Republic
With Columbus North off to a strong start to the girls basketball season and Columbus East in the midst of a rebuilding year, all signs pointed to a Bull Dog win in Thursday’s crosstown contest.
That came to fruition when North jumped out to a big lead in the first quarter and cruised from there to a 62-33 triumph.
“That was definitely a key for us,” North coach Brett White said. “We felt like if we could kind of speed things up, that would be a positive for us. We were able to turn them over, and that led to some open shots, and we were able to hit those shots and that led to a little more bounce. So I was really happy with our start.”
Leading 3-2 a minute-and-a-half into the game, the Bull Dogs (11-1) scored 19 points in a row to lead 22-2 with 1:45 left in the first quarter. Sophomore guards Avery Johnson and Kaylie Harmon each hit a pair of 3-pointers in the opening period.
“I thought especially in the first half, we moved the ball really well, and we got off to a good start,” Johnson said. “I was proud of us.”
“I think we came out here with a lot of energy after thinking about this game all week,” Harmon added. “First, we had to take Seymour (on Tuesday), but then we came into this game with a lot of energy. We were excited to play.”
North forced 10 of the Olympians’ 19 turnovers in the opening period.
“Definitely a slow start,” East coach Kaitlyn Phillips said. “Turnovers kind of killed us. Anytime we got good shots, they usually went in. It’s just a matter of keeping the ball long in order for us to get good looks.”
The Bull Dogs built the lead to 40-14 at halftime. The Olympians (0-9) settled down in the second half and was outscored by only three points over the final two quarters.
“We graduated six seniors last year, so for a lot of these girls, this is their first varsity East-North game, so that comes with a lot of anxiety and nerves,” Phillips said. “That definitely got the best of us in the first half. We just needed to settle down a little bit, which we were able to do at halftime.”
Harmon finished with 17 points, while Johnson scored 15, Ava Wilson had 10 and Hadassah Hurt added nine for the Bull Dogs.
“There’s things that as a coach, you always want to do better,” White said. “I thought we fouled a little bit too much defensively, but I still thought we tried to work the offense like we wanted to, and I’m happy with our execution.”
Paige Terry grabbed seven rebounds for North, which avenged an upset overtime home loss to the Olympians last season.
“There was definitely some motivation,” Johnson said. “Obviously, we wanted to get revenge on them on their home court.”
Kimberly Carothers led East with 12 points and seven rebounds. Ella Anthis added eight points and four rebounds for the Olympians, who outrebounded the Bull Dogs 28-25.
Both teams play in tournaments next week. North opens play in the Scottsburg Tournament against Bedford North Lawrence on Dec. 27. East plays Southwestern (Hanover) in the Hauser Tournament, a three-day event that begins on Dec. 26.
“The next few games on our schedule should be a lot more competitive, and we’ve definitely been playing a lot more consistently,” Phillips said. “Going into tonight and the last several weeks, we’ve played a lot better, so I anticipate our next few games should be a lot more competitive and a lot better showing.”
Columbus North 62, Columbus East 33
Columbus North;22;18;13;9;—;62
Columbus East;5;9;12;7;—;33
Columbus North (11-1): Kenna Conrad 1 2-3 4, Ava Wilson 3 1-2 10, Hadassah Hurt 3 3-4 9, Riley Sims 0 0-0 0, Sydni Schiefer 0 0-0 0, Audrey Nordman 0 0-0 0, Kaylie Harmon 6 2-4 17, Paige Terry 1 0-0 2, Avery Johnson 6 0-1 15, Sydney Johnson 2 0-0 4, Addy Dean 0 0-0 0, Addy Wheatley 0 0-0 0, Emma Beaver 0 1-2 1. Totals: 22 9-16 62.
Columbus East (0-9): Kenzie Cheek 2 0-0 5, Lola Watkins 0 5-8 5, Ella Anthis 1 5-6 8, Kimberly Carothers 3 5-6 12, Krea Martin 0 0-0 0, Lucy Ross 0 0-0 0, Ellie Schlaudroff 0 0-0 0, Averie Graham 1 0-0 3. Totals: 7 15-20 33.
3-point goals: Columbus North 9 (Wilson 3, Harmon 3, A. Johnson 3). Columbus East 4 (Cheek, Anthis, Carothers, Graham).
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