VEEDERSBURG — A career night from Emma Ward and a stifling defense led Southmont past Fountain Central 46-22 in girls’ basketball on Thursday night.
Ward hit three-straight 3-pointers to start the game, giving the Mounties a 9-2 lead after a quarter, and they never looked back.
“Emma Ward hitting those first three was just ridiculous,” Southmont coach Dustin Oakley said. “She had her feet ready — catch and shoot — she needed a game like this, because we see it everyday in practice.”
The senior led Southmont (2-1) with 14 points, but the Mounties found balance offensively throughout the game.
In the second quarter, Addi Charles, Natalie Manion, and Belle Miller each had field goals. During the third period it was Sidney Veatch’s turn with a six-point quarter, before Manion added five in the fourth. Veatch and Miller each had nine to go along with Ward’s 14, and Manion added seven. Scoring came from every position — something Oakley has stressed early in the season.
“It was just coming from both,” he said of the play of his guards and post players. “I think our decision making of when to shoot and our post feeds have been excellent so far the first few games, and I just feel like they’re playing really well as a team. We are trying to get it inside and outside, and it’s been pretty balanced so far.”
Coming off a 47-40 win over Frankfort, the Mustangs (1-2) struggled offensively for all 32 minutes. Fountain Central shot just 8-of-47 from the field.
“It was like there was a lid on both rims every time we shot the ball,” Mustangs coach Tom Anderson said. “We got open looks, but just couldn’t knock anything down. There were a lot of times we got out of our offense, and we weren’t taking advantage of a mismatch with one of our big girls down there.”
Using a man-to-man press, the Mounties stepped up their defensive pressure, forcing 23 Fountain Central turnovers. They also out-rebounded the Mustangs 43-40.
“Our defense and crashing boards has been our focus the first couple of weeks, and I think we’re doing pretty well right now,” Oakley said.
Dakota Borman led Fountain Central with nine points, seven of which came in the second half. The Mustangs will now go back to the drawing board with a home date against Crawfordsville looming on Tuesday.
“We are just going to have to get back in here, and get back to work,” Anderson said.
Southmont is off until next Friday, when they play Crawfordsville at 6 p.m. at North Montgomery in the first game of the Sugar Creek Classic.
Southmont 46, Fountain Central 22
SM 9 8 16 13 — 46
FC 2 4 10 6 — 22
SM (2-1): Dori Frederick 0 0-0 0, Makayla Oppy 0 0-0 0, Claire Remley 0 0-0 0, Bailey Thompson 0 0-2 0, Hannah Thompson 0 1-6 1, Marissa Craig 1 0-0 2, Addi Charles 2 0-0 4, Natalie Manion 3 1-5 7, Sidney Veatch 3 3-8 9, Belle Miller 3 3-4 9; Totals 17-57 8-25 46.
FC (1-2): Gwen Sandlin 0 0-0 0, Marley Massey 0 0-0 0, Gracie Foxworthy 0 1-2 1, Dana Sanders 1 0-0 2, Jerzi Hershberger 1 0-0 2, Reagan Oswalt 2 0-0 4, Audri Eades 2 0-0 4, Dakota Borman 2 5-6 9; Totals 8-47 6-8 22.
3-Point Shooting: SM 4-19 (Ward 4), FC 0-6
Rebounds: SM 43, FC 40
Turnovers: SM 13, FC 23
