Columbus North’s Kathryn Wilson and Kayla Jones guard New Albany’s Journey Howard at Columbus North, Friday, Nov. 18, 2022.
Paige Grider | For The Republic
New Albany had no answer to Columbus North’s pressure defense.
North forced countless New Albany turnovers Friday night. It helped lead North to a 61-27 victory.
“We practiced it, and we thought that it would be a good look for us, and tonight, it really was,” North senior Lauren Barker said. “We were able to get some easy steals that went for easy buckets, so that was good to see.”
North (3-2) put the press on early and often and forced many New Albany turnovers, but at times, North’s offense couldn’t convert off the turnovers. It kept New Albany (1-5) within distance, but a Kennedy Horn putback basket right at buzzer made it 11-5 after the first quarter.
North kept the press going, and it finally grew the lead to double digits following an Olivia Johnson basket to go ahead 20-9. New Albany got it to within 21-13 late in the first half, but back-to-back 3-pointers from Lauren Barker and Johnson made it 29-13, and North led 29-15 at the half.
After Journey Howard scored the first New Albany basket of the second half, North turned up the pressure again. It lead to steals and baskets from Barker and a basket from Kathryn Wilson grew the lead to 35-17 and eventually 44-23 at the end of the third quarter. North went on to outscore New Albany 17-2 in the fourth quarter.
“One of our goals was to try to pressure (New Albany), trying to speed them up,” North coach Brett White said. “We tried to do that a little bit in the halfcourt and weren’t as successful in the first half. We decided to switch things up in the second half and do more of a full-court press. We were able to turn them over, and that got us going a little bit in that second half.”
Balanced scoring proved to be huge for North, with nine players winding up on the scorebook with points. Barker led the team with 17 points, Wilson had nine, and Elise Preston and Horn each added eight.
“You always love to see a different variety of players score,” Barker said. “I think we did a really good job of sharing the ball tonight and knocking down some shots. It was good to see that.”
The bench scoring was lopsided with Preston and Horn leading North to a 26-8 advantage.
“We rely on our bench. We feel like we’re a pretty deep team,” White said. “I wasn’t surprised, but at the same time, I was very pleased with that.”
Columbus North 61, New Albany 27
New Albany;5;10;8;4;—;27
Columbus North;11;18;15;17;—;61
New Albany (1-5): Alaina Walker 2 0-0 4, Maizy Smith 3 2-3 8, Reese Stiles 0 2-2 2, Grace McBride 0 0-0 0, Madi Wood 0 0-0 0, Journey Howard 5 3-6 13, Cheyenne Palmer 0 0-0 0. Totals: 10 7-11 27.
Columbus North (3-2): Kathryn Wilson 4 1-2 9, Lauren Barker 7 0-1 17, Olivia Johnson 1 1-2 4, Elise Preston 2 2-2 8, Reagan Babb 0 0-0 0, Kennedy Horn 3 2-2 8, Kenna Conrad 0 0-0 0, Kayla Jones 2 0-2 4, Miley McClellan 1 0-2 2, Emma Long 1 1-2 3, Sydney Johnson 0 0-0 0, Hadassah Hurt 2 1-1 6. Totals: 23 8-16 61.
3-point goals: New Albany 0; Columbus North 7 (Barker 3, Preston 2, Hurt, Johnson).
