NEW MARKET — Southmont girls basketball had no problems getting back in the win column on Thursday when the Mounties welcomed Attica to Bob Tandy Gymnasium. A 29-10 second half allowed the Mounties to cruise to a 57-23 win. After Attica scored the opening bucket, the Mounties got a three from DeLorean Mason and never looked back. South led 14-3 after a quarter, 28-13 at halftime, and 46-21 after three.
After taking a difficult loss on Tuesday to Parke Heritage, Southmont coach Dan Burkman was proud to see his team come out and play with much more intensity in the win.
“Tonight was obviously a much better game for us,” he said. “I thought we kept the ball moving all night long and making the extra passes. We also crashed the offensive glass a lot better too and we looked like how we’re supposed to.”
Southmont (6-4) had three players score in double figures led by Mason’s 20 points. Freshman Layla Gomez continued her strong first season with 15 points, many of which came from the mid-range which Attica left open all night. Chloe Jenkins ended with 10 points for the Mounties.
“I had a discussion with Layla before the game about being more aggressive out there,” Burkman said. “She took that to heart and did a nice job of not forcing any of her shots and it all came in the flow of our offense. In games prior she was passing up some open looks. It’s always better for us when players like her and Chloe are looking to score like they did. It does take that pressure off of DeLo. When we get to dependent on just DeLo scoring we get in trouble so I was glad to see both Layla and Chloe take a little more responsibility on that end.”
For the game the Mounties shot 22-50 (44%) from the floor. They made 4-11 (36%) from three with Mason making all four while shooting 9-14 (64%) from the foul line. Southmont also grabbed 37 rebounds and had 14 turnovers.
Attica was led in scoring by two players in Taylor Clevenger and Adyson Goodwin who both ended with seven for the Red Ramblers. From the floor they shot 9-35 (26%) and were unable to hit from deep all night going just 1-17 (6%) from three point range. They made 4-6 from the charity stripe and grabbed 21 rebounds while turning the ball over 19 times.
The win marks the fifth straight game where South has alternated wins and losses. Burkman notes how he hopes this win is something that is able to start building consistency with his girls as the half-way point of the season is nearly here.
“Some of our inconsistencies fall on me not being consistent with our subs and things like that,” he said. “I’m trying to find that sweet spot right now with about three to four of our girls on who will step in and add to what we got going. It’s been a challenge so far, but I think we’re beginning to make strides there.”
Southmont will be idle until next Friday when they welcome the Danville Warriors for a Sagamore Conference girl/boy double-header which begins at 6 p.m.
Southmont 57, Attica 23
Score By Quarter
ATT 4 9 8 2 — 23
SM 13 15 18 11 — 57
Attica (2-4) FG-FGA FT-FTA PTS: McKenna Massey 1-2 1-2 3, Taylor Clevenger 2-4 2-2 7, Aleah Cruz 1-9 0-0 2, Grace Hiller 2-3 0-0 4, Ava Massey 0-2 0-0 0, Maddie Beck 0- 0 0-0 0, Adyson Goodwin 3-15 1-2 7, Maddox Rice 0-0 0-0 0; Totals 9-35 4-6 23
Southmont (6-4): Molly Williams 1-1 0-0 2, Kenzie Douglas 0-0 0-0 0, Olivia Gray 1-5 0-0 2, Emily Link 0-3 0-0 0, Claire Kessler 1-1 1-2 3, Cheyenne Shaw 0-2 1-2 1, DeLorean Mason 7-15 2-2 20, Makinzie Wood 0-1 2-2 2, Chloe Jenkins 4-10 2-4 10, Karleigh Hall 1-1 0-0 2, Layla Gomez 7-11 1-2 15; Totals 22-50 9-14 57
3-Point Shooting: Attica 1-17 (Clevenger 1-1, Cruz 0-4, Goodwin 0-9); Southmont 4-11 (Mason 4-9)
Rebounds: Attica 21 (Goodwin 3, M. Massey 3, Cruz 3); Southmont 37 (Jenkins 7, Gomez 5, Shaw 5, Mason 4)
Turnovers: Attica 19, Southmont 14
