DOVER — After both North Montgomery and Southmont suffered losses in their opening games of the Sugar Creek Classic, the two county rivals would meet with both needing win to get back on track.
In what was close game throughout, the Chargers (3-3 1-0 SAC) were able to hold on for a 32-28 win to give the Mounties (2-4 0-1 SAC) their third consecutive loss.
“It’s always nice to get a W,” North Montgomery coach Ryan Nuppnau said. “Even though we got the win, we can’t rest and have to still look at how we can get better. These girls are hungry to do just that so I know they’re not satisfied with just this game.”
The Chargers opened the game by scoring the first seven points, five of which came from Hadley Broadwater who ended with seven. Lydia Dugard led North Montgomery with 11 points. Katie Rice added eight and Piper Ramey scored six.
Southmont took the lead in the fourth quarter on a Dori Frederick three with 5:43 to give the Mounties a 25-24 advantage. Belle Miller then extended the lead to 27-24, but six straight by the Chargers including a perfect 4/4 from the free-throw line, helped them seal the win.
“Friday night against Western Boone, we let them comeback and we never had an answer, tonight we bent a little bit, but we never broke,” Nuppnau said. “We fought our way back and shot well from the line and those free-throws at the end were huge for us.”
For the Mounties eight different players scored, but none had more than Belle Miller’s ten. Frederick had seven and DeLorean Mason scored four. Southmont after a 2-1 start has now lost three straight and coach Dan Burkman is looking for answers after another slow start.
“We can’t give up in the first three to four minutes of the game,” he said. “I was much more happier with their effort compared to Friday night against Crawfordsville. We’ve been trying some new things on offense we haven’t practiced yet so I’m seeing bright spots even though we lost.”
The Mounties will look to end their three-game skid against South Putnam this evening before hosting North Putnam on Wednesday before Thanksgiving.
“It’s a marathon not a sprint to the finish,” Burkman said. “We have to keep our eyes on the prize at the end of the season and keep plugging away.”
North Montgomery will host Fountain Central on Tuesday night before taking a week off with Thanksgiving break.
Both Miller for the Mounties and Rice for the Chargers were named to the Sugar Creek Classic All-Tournament team for their performace over the two games.
