Journey Blevins leaps for a jump shot while a Graham defender watches on. Blevins tallied 15 points in the Lady Cats 62-36 victory. (Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon)
The North Union girls basketball team has had little struggles this season.
That continued on Wednesday as the Lady Cats rolled to a 62-36 win over Graham.
The Lady Falcons were nothing more than a speed bump for the North Union head coach Bre Nauman, who said the game was a solid team win.
“We have goals every game and we hit every one of those goals tonight ,” she said. “We shot well from the floor. We took good smart shots. We looked for each other on the floor.”
The Lady Cats (5-1) opened the contest with a stout press.
Nauman credited her guards for the Lady Cats’ defensive success.
“We typically start out every game with the press and try to figure out if it is hurting or helping us,” she said. “I give a lot of credit to our guards for coming out and working hard to get some quick steals and quick buckets to set the tone of the game.”
That spark on offense came from 11 turnovers by Graham which gave NU numerous breakaway opportunities.
As a result, the Cats led 19-9 at the end of the first quarter.
The Lady Cats continued to push their offense onward with the help of several three-point goals from Journey Blevins, Jordyn Hoffman and Madison Amstutz.
Nauman said NU has weapons all over the court, which keeps opposing defenses guessing.
“We have multiple assets,” she said. “We’ve got shooters and post players and we just keep mixing it up so their defense doesn’t know what we are going to do next.”
The Lady Cats took a 34-20 lead into the locker room.
North Union’s offense didn’t slow down in the third quarter.
Kori Marvin took the lead with the ball by scoring seven points in the period. Nauman got some solid bench support from Gabby Ziegler, who scored four points from the post and Sydney Parish, who hit outside the arc.
NU held a commanding 50-27 margin by the end of the third set.
Nauman said her guards also helped open up the floor for the Lady Cats’ offense.
“I thought our guards were more aggressive on the drive, which is helpful to help us mix it up,” she said.
The Lady Cats were able to cruise to their victory in the final stanza.
Alyssa Guy and Hoffman added a pair of treys to help seal North Union’s victory.
The Lady Cats are now 5-1 for the season and will return to action Saturday when they travel to Buckeye Valley.
North Union
Hoffman 6-0-16, Blevins 5-4-15, Ziegler 4-0-8, Marvin 3-1-7, Amstutz 1-3-5, Bacon 2-0-4, Guy 1-0-3, Parish, 1-0-3, Ruhl 0-1-1. Totals 23-9-62.
Three-point goals: Hoffman 4, Blevins 1, Guy 1, Parish 1
Graham
King 4-2-11, Yukon 3-2-8, Kemp 2-2-6, Nash 2-0-5, Bailey 1-1-3, Shoemaker 1-0-3. Totals 13-7-36.
Three-point goals: King 1, Nash 1, Shoemaker 1.