ROCKVILLE — A furious start and a crushing inside/outside game carried Southmont’s girls basketball team to a convincing 58-35 win over Parke Heritage.
The win moves the Mounties to 5-3 on the season, while the Wolves drop to 4-5.
“It was our best complete game of the season,” South coach Dustin Oakley said of the performance, which saw his squad dominate in every stat column except free throw shooting.
It all started at the start, as the Mounties put the first 12 points on the board at the Rock-Dome, limiting the home team to three missed shots and six turnovers in their first nine possessions
“It all starts on defense,” Oakley said, noting 10 steals and the 21 turnovers forced, which turned into 15 points. “We want to hold teams to 10 points a quarter, and our mentality on the defensive end has been relentless. We close out, we pressure the ball and we rebound. Guards are getting fingers on passes and are picking up loose rebounds.”
South took the ball to the other end and picked up the quick 12 points
“We get that early lead and that boosts our confidence,” Oakley noted.
The Mounties offense worked on all cylinders as well, going inside to the bigs where Belle Miller was co-leading scorer with 19 points, and Sidney Veatch logged her fourth double-double the year with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
The outside game benefited from Parke Heritage sagging inside, as Addie Charles dropped five 3-pointers on the way to her own 19 points.
“Everyone is getting touches,” Oakley said of the offense. “Everyone trusts each other. “The guards are tremendous with their post feeds and getting the ball in to the bigs. That opens the game up for the bigs to kick it back outside.”
The Mounties shot better that 50 percent from the floor (24-of-53) and were 8-of-22 from long range. They owned a 43-23 rebound margin, which produced a 16-0 advantage in second-chance points. Miller’s nine boards were next behind Veatch. They dished out 13 assists, led by Emma Ward’s four.
The Wolves were led in scoring by Lexi Jones with 11 and Grace Ramsey with eight points and seven rebounds.
“Ramsey killed us last year,” Oakley said. “Natalie Manion just shut her down. Manion draws the best player defensively every game, and she is just so determined to get her stops. She gives us great leadership.”
PH was 16-of-43 from the field and 3-of-13 from deep. They missed their only two free throws, while South was 2-of-9 from the line.
“We are communicating so well,” Oakley said of his squad. “We are making switches on defense. We are out-hustling and out-working people. Veatch and Miller push each other in practice and then balance each other in games. We were focused tonight and it turned into lots and lots of good things.”
The Wolves have two games left this week and are in the South sectional. They defeated North Montgomery the first night of the season and will be at Crawfordsville in January.
The Mounties are also back in action Thursday with a home game against North Vermillion.
JV
South won the JV game 36-18. Jayden Rivers led the Mounties with eight points, followed by Dori Frederick with six.
SOUTHMONT 58 PARKE HERITAGE 35
SOUTHMONT 14 17 21 15 - 58
PARKE HERITAGE 4 11 13 7 - 35
South (5-3): Ward 0-4 0-0 0, Veatch 5-14 1-2 11, Charles 7-12 0-0 19, Manion 1-2 0-4 3 Miller 9-12 0-1 19, Remley 0-0 0-0 0, B.Thompson 1-4 0-0 3, H.Thompson 1-4 0-0 2, Oppy 0-1 0-0 0, Frederick 0-0 0-0 0, Gass 0-0 1-2 1, Nichols 0-1 0-0, Craig 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-55 2-9 58.
Parke Heritage (4-5): Jones 4-11 0-0 11, Macy Millspaugh 0-0 0-0 0, Mady Millspaugh 2-5 0-0 4, O'Brien 3-6 0-2 6, Ramsey 4-6 0-0 8, Keifner 0-4 0-0 0, Mack 0-2 0-0 0, Jeffries 2-5 0-0, Wilson 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 16-43 0-2 35.
3-Point Shooting: South 8-22 (Ward 0-2, Veatch 0-2, Charles 5-10, Manion 1-2, Miller 1-1, B.Thompson 1-4, H.Thompson 0-1); Parke Heritage 3-13 (Jones 3-9, Mack 0-1, Macy Millspaugh 0-2, Kiefner 0-1).
Rebounds: South 43 (Veatch 11, Miller 9,); Parke Heritage 23 (Ramsey 7, Mady Millspaugh 5).
Turnovers: South 19; Parke Heritage 21.
