Journey Blevins of North Union leaps for a layup while a Cardington defender watches on. Blevins tallied 28 points during the Lady Cats’ 73-57 loss.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon)
The Lady Cats of North Union are a team that has made some serious strides over the course of the season.
With a new coach at the helm and lack of senior leadership, the young Cats have had to learn a new way to play the game.
Those growing pains were evident thoughout the season.
Despite the early setbacks, though, NU was able to turn its season around by winning five in a row.
That winning streak came to a close on Wednesday as the Lady Cats fell, 73-57, to Cardington.
Despite the setback, North Union head coach Bre Nauman said she was happy to see the improvement.
“Anybody who watched our first game to where we are today can see a tremendous amount of improvement,” she said. “Cardington is a good team and is the third seed (in the Division III tournament) for a reason.
“They have tough defense and if we would have played them early in the season, we would have crumbled.”
The two teams started out with solid defense. NU opted for zone coverage, while the Pirates played man-to-man.
The Lady Cats looked for Journey Blevins in the paint for four early points.
The Pirates utilized their 6-2 post player Casey Bertke to pick up buckets for them. She was able to stack up nine points to give Cardington a 15-6 lead at the end of the first set.
The Lady Cats switched up their defense to a full press that was able to capitalize on some Pirate turnovers.
The tactic allowed NU to pull within 23-22. Blevins scored 10 points Kenna Ruhl ans Alyson Guy each knocked down trifectas.
Baskets by Bertke allowed Cardington to stretch its lead at 35-24 by halftime.
Despite playing from behind, Nauman said she was happy to see NU respond to mixing up its defense.
“We threw in a new defense and told the girls to be aggressive in those traps.
“We are quick in short bursts and we try to use that to our advantage by getting our hands on the ball.
“Tonight we were able to mix up our defense and keep them on their toes.”
After some halftime adjustments, the Lady Cats caught on to Cardington’s corner trap defense.
Those adjustments allowed NU to catch the Pirates off guard in the paint.
Blevins notched 10 points and helped pull the Cats to within 48-40 at the end of the third period.
Nauman credited her coaching staff for the adjustments.
“I have a great coaching staff that helps me out as well,” she said. “I’m watching the defense, while they watch the offense and see what is working and what isn’t.
“We got the ball across half-court early in the defense shifts,” said Nauman. “We can then pitch it back to get that angle where they are not in the trap.”
NU went back to its trap in the fourth quarter.
However, some mismanaged passes led to NU turnovers and some easy Pirate buckets.
Bertke tallied 18 points in the final quarter to close out the game.
“Even though we didn’t come out on the winning side of things, there were spurts and ups and downs in the game,” said Nauman. “You could definitely see that our team didn’t give up.
“That made me really proud.”
The Lady Cats will now move onto Division III post-season play with their tourney opener at Bishop Ready next Tuesday.
North Union finished the regular season at 7-15 overall. NU placed second in the Central Buckeye Conference Mad River Division with a 6-4 mark.
Cardington
C. Bertke 21-2-44, Edwards 3-2-9, Hardwick 2-2-7, Clinger 2-1-6, D. Bertke 1-1-3, Wickline 1-0-2, Reppart 1-0-2. Totals 31-8-73.
Three-point goals: Edwards 1, Hardwick 1, Clinger 1
North Union
Blevins 9-10-28, Guy 4-0-9, Bacon 3-0-6, Amstutz 2-0-6, Ruhl 1-0-3, Hoffman 1-0-3, Deickert 1-0-2. Totals 21-10-57.
Three-point goals: Amstutz 2, Guy 1, Ruhl 1, Hoffman 1