ROACHDALE – A furious fourth quarter comeback effort by Southmont’s girls basketball team fell a point short in a 46-45 loss to North Putnam.
The Mounties, trailing 41-28 only seconds into the final quarter, looked to be dead in the water, and out of gas after a big win Monday. They fall to 4-5 for the season, while the Cougars move to 6-2.
But the next seven points were all on the South ledger, and four minutes later, they scored seven again and were down 44-42, with the ball. The Cougars, however, got a steal, and then a couple free throws late to get the lead back to three.
A Southmont basket in the waning seconds set the final score.
“Our motto is no excuses,” Mounties coach Dan Burkman said. “We showed up in the fourth quarter, and not the first three. In the first half, our defense was way out of sorts. We were not using our quickness, and we were not aggressive. The zones and the traps just weren’t effective enough, so we went back to our man defense, and that worked better.”
The game rolled back and forth, with the Mounties leading early, and then trailing. They were behind at halftime and then trailed big at the start of the fourth quarter but nearly won it as they scored consistent points after forcing turnovers.
Leading the way for South was Chloe Jenkins double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds. DeLorean Mason also had a dozen points before fouling out in the fourth quarter.
For the game, the Mounties were 17-of-59 from the field, 4-of-10 from long range and 7-of-13 from the line. They won the rebound battle 41-36 and had 23 turnovers. They scored 23 points off of 31 Cougars turnovers.
North Putnam was led in scoring by Rose Haste with 16 points, including four three-point shots. Lexi Daigle added 11. The Cougars were 15-of-31 on a good shooting night at home, 6-of-12 from deep and 10-of-23 from the line. They missed eight free throws in the final quarter that gave Southmont extra chances at catching up.
“We have to get better,” Burkman noted. “We had too many empty opportunities, and maybe the Friday/Saturday/Monday games caught up with us a little. But like I said – no excuses. We get back to practice and work on those things.”
The Mounties are back in action next Tuesday with a home game against Parke Heritage.
