LINDEN — Despite a strong start, Southmont was unable to unseat the defending champs as Western Boone won their 11th straight girls’ Sugar Creek Classic (Presented by Franciscan Health) titles with a 46-35 win over the Mounties on Saturday night at North Montgomery.
The Mounties (3-2) jumped out to a 14-6 lead early in the second quarter, before Kara Brewer and Tori Wilkinson took the game over — giving the Stars (3-2) the lead for good at 21-20 heading into the half.
“We talked this morning a lot about playing to win, and not being afraid to lose,” Western Boone coach Megan Alexander said. “There was a lot of pressure coming into this game, especially for the seniors. To prove something to themselves.”
Brewer, who was held to four points in the Stars’ 39-32 win over North Montgomery on Thursday, knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers in the second quarter, and scored 13 of her game-high 24 points in the first half to earn a spot on the all-tourney team. On two of her triples in the second quarter though, the shot came after offensive rebounds, as Tori Wilkinson continued to dominate with a 12 rebounds for the game to go along with eight points. The senior scored 21 points and grabbed 23 rebounds in the two-game tournament to earn MVP honors.
“Wilkinson in the first half I thought just took it to us,” Southmont coach Dustin Oakley said. “She was everywhere. All over the floor, loose balls, and every rebound was hers.”
Western Boone opened the second half on a 9-0 run, and held the Mounties without a field goal in the quarter.
“Coming into this game, and knowing Dustin (Oakley) is a great coach,” Alexander said. “I knew Southmont was going to have a lot of energy, and they wanted this so bad. At halftime I told our girls to stay steady with it.”
Addi Charles nailed a 3-pointer with 4:48 left in the fourth quarter to cut Western Boone’s lead to 34-29, but the Stars answered with a 10-0 run to put the game away.
“It’s hard to keep up with them if we are not scoring,” Oakley said. “They take care of the ball really well with the guards with Reed and Brewer, and I think once they get that cushion.”
Charles led the Mounties with 10 points, while Beller Miller chipped in eight. Sidney Veatch scored six, and grabbed nine rebounds to earn a spot on the all-tournament team.
Western Boone is at Sheridan on Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m., while Southmont hosts South Putnam tonight, before hosting North Putnam on Wednesday.
2019 Sugar Creek Classic All-Tournament Team
Tori Wilkinson (MVP) — Western Boone
Kara Brewer — Western Boone
Sidney Veatch — Southmont
Maddie Moseley — North Montgomery
Shea Williamson — Crawfordsville
Western Boone 46, Southmont 35
Western Boone 6 15 9 16 — 46
Southmont 9 11 2 13 — 35
Western Boone (3-2): Voils 1-7 1-1 3, Brewer 8-18 4-5 24, Reed 1-6 2-2 5, Wilkinson 4-7 0-1 8, Bescom 3-5 0-0 6, Conyer 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 17-45 7-9 46.
Southmont (3-2): Ward 1-2 0-0 2, Manion 1-6 1-2 3, Remley 2-4 0-0 4, Charles 3-13 1-2 10, Miller 3-7 2-2 8, Veatch 3-6 0-2 6, H.Thompson 0-1 0-0 0, B.Thompson 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 14-40 4-8 35.
3-Point shooting: Western Boone 5-11 (Brewer 4-7, Reed 1-3, Conyer 0-1); Southmont 3-15 (Ward 0-1, Manion 0-1, Remley 0-1, Charles 3-9, Miller 0-1, Veatch 0-1, H.Thompson 0-1)
Rebounding: Western Boone 35 (Wilkinson 12, Reed 6, Bescom 6); Southmont 26 (Veatch 9, Manion 6, Miller 4)
Fouls: Western Boone 10; Southmont 13
Turnovers: Western Boone 11: Southmont 18
