NEW MARKET — The Southmont girls’ basketball team ended a three-game losing streak with a 56-27 Sagamore Conference win over Frankfort on Thursday night.
The Mounties (11-3, 3-2 SAC) opened the game on a 10-0 run and led 15-1 after a quarter. The Hot Dogs (2-14, 0-5 SAC) made a mini run in the second quarter to cut the lead to 16-8, but never posed a serious threat.
Southmont led 26-12 at the half and finally broke things open when Sidney Veatch made it a 20-point game late in the third quarter with back-to-back baskets. The senior scored 10 of her game-high 16 points in the quarter as the Mounties outscored the Hot Dogs 18-8. Southmont made an emphasis to feed the post in the second half, despite both Veatch and Belle Miller playing with three fouls.
“I think the combination of Sidney and Belle together is a great combination, but so far this year we haven’t had them both play well together in any games,” Southmont first-year coach Dan Burkman said.
Miller added six points.
The Mounties struggled shooting, connecting on just 22-of-60 shots for a 31% clip. That included a 4-of-21 effort from beyond the arc against Frankfort’s 2-3 zone.
“It was good because I got to see firsthand,” Burkman said of some of the struggles leftover from the three-game skid. “At first I was thinking they weren’t used to being in that position and that sort of thing, but I think when they get comfortable, they veer off from the system and start doing things that we shouldn’t really be doing.”
Southmont did win on the boards 53-40 and limited their mistakes to 18 turnovers, while Frankort committed 28. The Hot Dogs were 10-of-50 shooting and made just a single 3-pointer on 16 attempts.
Jessie Ramos led the Hot Dogs with 11 points off the bench.
Natalie Manion added 11 and Addison Charles nine for the Mounties. The guard tandem controlled the point for most of outing, but Burkman had no trouble going to his bench — playing 11 girls in the win — with eight finding the scoring column. His hope is to continue building success in an up-tempo style of offense.
“We were really trying to make an effort to push the ball up the court and didn’t really see a whole lot of success with that. I really think we need to play a faster pace,” he said. “I think it’s pretty obvious we struggle in the half-court, so I think an up-tempo, transition basketball with our speed.”
Southmont has just two games left in the regular season, hosting Covington on Tuesday, before traveling to Lebanon on Thursday.
