LINDEN — The North Montgomery girls now own a winning streak after a 33-27 Sagamore Conference win over Frankfort.
After a come-from-behind win over Attica last Friday, the Chargers led from the first shot to the last in posting their second win in a row.
They move to 2-3 on the season, and start the conference season with the win, while the Hot Dogs fall to 1-4 overall. They were also playing their first Sagamore game.
“I told the girls it was an ugly win, but it was a win,” noted North coach Ryan Nuppnau. “We found a way to get the win.”
From just the stats sheet, the Chargers picked up the win at the free throw line, as they outscored Frankfort 8-0 from the line.
In fact, the Hot Dogs missed all six of their attempts in the first quarter, and never got back to the line again, while the Chargers were 4-of-4 in that first quarter and finished 8-of-15.
What the coach noticed was the running score.
“We got the lead in the first quarter and maintained it,” Nuppnau noted. “Not much went our way - the press bothered us and a lot of shots didn’t fall, but we kept our composure. We didn’t quit and didn’t get flustered. We found a way to win. Against Attica, we fell behind early and had to come back. Tonight we got the lead early and kept the lead all game.”
There were plenty of fluster-points for both teams, as they combined for 66 turnovers, but neither team could score many points off those miscues.
The Chargers did own a 51-37 rebound advantage, and a 10-6 edge in second-chance points. A handful of those came on free throws after missed shots.
Leading the scoring column was Piper Ramey.
The sophomore, who missed nearly eight minutes of the first quarter with her second foul, still logged a double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds. She also had five steals and an assist.
Freshman Macee Norman was one short on each side for a double-double with nine points and nine boards.
“She (Norman) played the entire 32 minutes tonight,” Nuppnau said. “We asked a lot of her.”
Madison Banta added four points, eight rebounds and three steals, as the Chargers were 12-of-51 from the field, 1-of-11 from three-point range and 8-of-15 from the line.
The Hot Dogs were led in scoring by Vanessa Guardado and Sara Fores with eight points each. Flores had 10 rebounds and Guardado was one of three Frankfort players with five boards.
The visitors were 13-of-49 from the field, 1-of-5 from long range and 0-of-6 from the line.
While the Chargers did lead from wire to wire, Frankfort got close in the second half, as they scored the first six points of the fourth quarter to make it a 26-25 game in favor of North. The Chargers, however, closed on the 7-2 run that set the final score.
“There are lots of things to build on,” Nuppnau said. “We have the turnovers to deal with, and we will see plenty of pressure in the Sugar Creek Classic this weekend. The fact we took and kept a lead for the entire game is also a real positive to build on.”
The Chargers take on Western Boone in the first game of the Classic this Friday evening at Crawfordsville, with the Athenians and Mounties playing the second game.
The Hot Dogs will play both Southmont and Crawfordsville in January near the end of the conference and regular season.
