North Union’s Zoe Wedding (12) goes up for a basket in this file photo. The Lady Cats scored a victory over Benjamin Logan.
(Photo submitted)
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For most of the season, North Union girls basketball coach Bre Jackson has talked about the tenacity the Lady Cats have shown.
“These kids fight hard for everything,” Jackson said after a home game against Benjamin Logan.
That is what helped North Union battle through the ups and downs of its 43-39 victory over the Raiders.
The win pushed the Lady Cats’ record to 11-2 overall and 6-0 in the Central Buckeye Conference.
The key to the win was North Union’s explosive start to the fourth quarter.
Trailing 29-27, North Union opened the frame with seven straight points and 13 of the first 15 markers.
“I told the team we have got to go out and stretch the lead,” Jackson said. “We were able to do that and put Benjamin Logan in a little bit of a panic mode.”
The scoring run started simply enough with a free throw by Zoe Wedding. That was followed by a rebound basket from Abbey Price, a steal and layup by Price and a layup from Audrey Benedict.
A two-pointer by the Raiders’ Lynzee Cronkelton briefly stopped the run.
The Lady Cats, though, came up with six straight points to lead 40-31 with 2:18 left in the game.
Hope Hall counted four points during the run, while Price added another two.
Benjamin Logan (10-7, 3-3) closed to within 41-37 with 1:20 left.
Wedding, however, provided the clincher with a rebound basket to make it 43-37 with just 22 seconds left to play.
Wedding’s stickback was one of several times the Lady Cats took advantage of getting second-chance opportunities.
North Union held a 36-22 edge in rebounds, including a 16-7 advantage of the caroms at the offensive end.
The Lady Cats were able to tally 12 second-chance points.
“We wanted to attack the basket to give us chances to score,” Jackson said. “I thought we played a little timid in the first half, but we were more aggressive and attacked the basket in the second half.”
Both teams struggled to get their offense going in the first quarter, which ended with the Raiders leading 7-6.
Three-point goals by Wedding, Hall and Allison Price jump-started North Union to a 15-9 lead in the second quarter.
The Lady Cats scored four points the rest of the stanza, all from the free throw line, and the game was tied at 19 going to the intermission.
A buzzer-beating drive by Kayla Reeves to close out the third quarter gave Benjamin Logan a 29-27 lead.
North Union, though, regained its mojo in the fourth quarter to earn the hard-fought victory.
“This win was truly a team win,” Jackson said.
Hall led the NU scoring brigade with 10 points, while Abbey Price and Benedict each had nine points.
Jada Davis collected 12 rebounds, Wedding had four steals and Abbey Price dished out two assists.
Cronkelton scored 17 points to lead Benjamin Logan.
North Union won the junior varsity game 32-22. Savannah Amstutz and Addison Wedding each had nine points for the Lady Cats.
North Union returns to action Wednesday at home against Indian Lake.
North Union
Hall 3-3-10, Ab. Price 3-3-9, Benedict 3-3-9, Wedding 2-1-6, Al. Price 2-1-6, Davis 0-3-3, Moran 0-0-0. Three-point goals: Hall, Ab. Price, Al. Price.
Benjamin Logan
L. Cronkelton 6-2-17, Reeves 4-0-8, Copenhaver 2-0-4, K. Cronkelton 2-0-4, Bates 1-0-2, Cook 1-0-2, Horney 1-0-2. Three-point goals: L. Cronkelton 3.