Avery Johnson
After seeing Bloomington South twice battle back from large deficits Saturday afternoon, Columbus North slammed the door at the free-throw line.
The Bull Dogs went 22 of 25 from the stripe, including 14 of 16 in the fourth quarter to fend off the Panthers’ comeback attempt and post a 64-55 win and rremain unbeaten in Conference Indiana.
“We shot it well from the free-throw line, and in games like that, you can extend that out when they do make a run,” North coach Brett White said. “It’s really disheartening (to the opponent) when they foul you, and you’re able to go to the free-throw line and make those.”
Trailing 4-1 early, the Bull Dogs (10-7, 4-0) ran off 13 points in a row, sparked by 3-pointers from freshmen Avery Johnson and Kaylie Harmon and a three-point play from Johnson. North led 22-8 in the closing seconds of the first quarter before a 3-pointer at the buzzer ignited a 14-2 Bloomington South run that cut the lead to 24-22 midway through the second quarter.
At that point, North went on a 19-3 run from the midpoint of the second quarter to the midpoint of the third to take its biggest lead at 43-25. The Panthers got back to within six with 2:40 remaining, but the Bull Dogs put it way at the line.
“When we got our lead, we wanted to be patient, but we got a little bit tentative vs. just being patient,” White said. “But we were able to sustain our lead there. We didn’t get rattled, and we could have easily done that. I’m proud of the fact that we stuck with it, and even though they made a run, we were able to still pull it out.”
Avery Johnson finished with a career-high 21 points to lead Columbus North, which will play at Bloomington North for the conference title on Jan. 19.
“I think it was just making smart decisions and working as a team,” Johnson said. “I think we worked really well as a team today, and everybody made contributions to lead us to the win. It was a really nice win because it’s one of our conference games, so now, we just have one more to win, and we can get a patch.”
Miley McClellan
Miley McClellan scored 13 points for the Bull Dogs. Harmon had 10, and Olivia Johnson added eight.
“We just knew we had to come out with some energy because previously, we’ve been coming out flat, but today, we were a lot more energetic and ready to play,” McClellan said. “I think that we really moved the ball well, and we’ve been running our offense better, and I think we got a lot of cushion from that. I think we’re only going to get better from here.”
Bloomington South outrebounded Columbus North 31-27. Paige Terry led the Bull Dogs with eight boards.
“(Bloomington South is) a well-coached team,” White said. “It’s a team that has good length. They run their stuff well, they defend well, so that’s a quality win for us and we’re excited about that and we’re hoping to build on that now as we go through January.”
Columbus North 64, Bloomington South 55
Bloomington South;11;12;14;18;—;55
Columbus North;22;12;14;16;—;64
Bloomington South (8-8, 2-2): Katie Barada 0 0-0 0, Alaina Maki 0 0-0 0, Violet Hall 3 3-4 10, Audrey Craft 3 0-0 8, Daniella Grimes 0 0-0 0, Julia Lashley 8 2-7 21, Abbie Lucas 4 6-7 14, Rebekah Arnold 1 0-0 2. Totals: 19 11-18 55.
Columbus North (10-7, 4-0): Ava Wilson 0 2-2 2, Olivia Johnson 2 2-2 8, Riley Sims 0 0-0 0, Kaylie Harmon 1 7-8 10, Paige Terry 1 0-0 2, Kaitlin White 1 0-0 2, Miley McClellan 4 5-6 13, Avery Johnson 7 6-7 21, Sydney Johnson 3 0-0 6. Totals: 19 22-25 64.
3-point goals: Bloomington South 6 (Lashley 3, Craft 2, Hall); Columbus North 4 (O. Johnson 2, Harmon, A. Johnson).
