FRANKFORT — North Montgomery’s girls basketball team opened their Sagamore Conference season with a win 51-34 over Frankfort.
The win also puts the Chargers at 3-2 on the season, gives them a three-game win streak, and matches their win total from last season.
The visitors jumped out to a 17-4 lead in the first quarter, going 8-of-11 from the field, and maintained that double-digit lead throughout.
“We actually got a bit of a slow start.” North coach Ryan Nuppnau said, “but when we got our press set up it really got our energy level up. It was really good to get that early lead and maintain it all game.”
The Chargers went inside to the bigs, and if the press wasn’t feeding them the ball, they were grabbing offensive rebounds to finish off plays.
Emily Sennett led all scorers with 17 points, and Katie Rice was only one missed free throw behind her with 16. They each also had eight rebounds.
“It was really good to see both of them score consistently throughout the game,” Nuppnau said of the double-post duo. “Emily (Sennett) also got good dribble penetration, and she hit a three on her first shot of the game. That is a big confidence booster for both of them.”
Sennett also had four steals and dished out three assists.
Getting the ball to the bigs was the name of the game for the rest of the team, in addition to picking up a lot of loose balls on the press and grabbing offensive rebounds.
“Everyone is ready to go after a rebound,” Nuppnau said. “There isn’t a good defense for an offensive rebound. Grace (McClaskey) did a good job handling the ball and controlling the offense. We had players tonight who didn’t have their best nights, and others were right there to pick them up.”
McClaskey led the Chargers with five assists, as North had helpers on 12 of their 20 field goals, and five more buckets were put-backs on offensive boards.
The Chargers were 20-of-39 from the field, 2-of-7 from long range and 9-of-18 from the line. They won the rebound battle 41-24 and had 23 turnovers, 13 coming in a ragged fourth quarter.
Frankfort, who falls to 0-6 on the season and 0-1 in SAC play, was led in scoring by Jordan Frazier with 8 points on four field goals and 8 free throws from Jessie Ramos.
The Hot Dogs were 8-of-39 from the field, 1-of-11 from long range and 17-of-23 from the line. Payton Dubree grabbed five rebounds and they had 18 turnovers.
“Every game is a learning experience,” Nuppnau said. “We had several players tonight who really played well.”
The Hot Dogs will see Southmont and Crawfordsville in January.
The Chargers are back in action at home Thursday as the first night of the Sugar Creek Classic has been moved up a night to accommodate Western Boone’s football game in the semistate.
North will take on the Stars in the second game, and WeBo, who has won nearly every Classic, is on the minds of the three Montgomery County teams.
“We have to come out with better intensity from the start,” Nuppnau said. “WeBo graduated their best player from last year, but they are always one of the favorites. I think the Classic is more open than in past years.”
The Chargers won the JV game 38-21. McKenzie Schroeder led North with 20 points. Karim Quinones had 13 for Frankfort.
NORTH MONTGOMERY 51 FRANKFORT 34
NORTH MONTGOMERY 17 7 14 13 - 51
FRANKFORT 4 6 7 17 - 34
NORTH (3-2 1-0): Moseley 1-1 0-2 2, McClaskey 0-1 0-1 0, Rice 8-10 1-2 17, Sennett 7-14 3-4 18, Rominger 0-3 1-2 1, Dugard 3-4 1-2 7, Welch 1-5 2-2 5, Zachary 0-1 0-0 0, Broadwater 0-0 0-2 0. Totals 20-39 9-18 51.
Frankfort (0-6, 0-1): Frazier 4-10 0-0 8, Sandoval 1-7 0-0 3, Dubree 0-3 0-0 0, Ramos 0-5 8-10 8, Cesare 2-7 2-2 6, Whitaker 0-4 0-0 0, Martinez 1-1 2-3 4, Valdes 0-2 2-2 2, Alanix 0-0 1-2 1, Massengil 0-0 2-4 2 . Totals 8-39 17-23 34.
3-Point Shooting: North 2-7 (Welch 1-3, Sennett 1-3, McClaskey 0-1); Frankfort 1-11 (Frazier 0-1, Sandoval 1-5, Whitaker 0-2, Ramos 0-1, Cesare 0-2).
Rebounds: North 41 (Rice 8, Sennett 8, Rominger 6); Frankfort 24 (Dubree 5).
Turnovers: North 23; Frankfort 18.
