Jada Davis (22) of North Union leaps for a layup as a Pleasant defender attempts to block her shot. Davis tallied 10 points during the Lady Cats’ 42-37 win. (Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon)
The youth of the North Union girls basketball team has started to settle into their roles.
The Lady Cats picked up their third straight win with a 42-37 victory over Pleasant on Tuesday.
NU head coach Bre Nauman said it was a good win for her young crew.
“It always feels good,” she said. “Whether or not they are in our league anymore, it’s still a rivalry between neighbors.”
The two teams showed strong defense with man-to-man coverage.
The Lady Spartans used a screen at the top of the arc to find open shots.
Still, the offense was not there very much for either team as Pleasant took a slim 8-5 lead at the end of the first period.
Pleasant continued to screen NU and started to find a rhythm with its shooters.
The Spartans worked their way to a 15-8 lead.
The Lady Cats struggled to respond.
Jada Davis went zero-for-three from beyond the arc.
Jordyn Hoffman, though, hit one-of-two from three-point land to help NU pull to 19-16 by the half.
Nauman said her team knew what the Spartans were going to bring to the game.
“We knew they were going to do a lot of dribble weave and set a high screen,” she said. “I think it just took a while for our girls to understand.
“We made the adjustment in the second half and it helped us realize we can’t leave them (Pleasant) wide open.”
The Lady Cats came out of the turn poised to take the lead.
Hoffman, did just that with a putback that put NU up 20-19 early in the third quarter.
Pleasant answered with a nine-point run to take a 28-20 lead.
After some quick adjustments from the bench, the Lady Cats put together some offense of their own.
Abby Price led a seven-point run with a three pointer which pulled NU to within 28-27 by the end of the quarter.
Nauman said the three-point shot wasn’t what they were looking for, but it gave the Lady Cats a lift.
“That wasn’t the look we wanted, because Abby (Price) is a get-to-the rim kid,” she said.
“For her to take a rhythm shot like that was huge,” she said. “It really helped completely shift the momentum.”
The Lady Cats retook the lead early in the fourth quarter when Sydney Parish hit free throws for a 30-28 lead.
The game took a more physical turn as the clock ticked down.
The chippy play led to a pair of quick technical fouls against Pleasant.
The fouls allowed NU to take a 35-31 lead with less than three minutes left to play. NU picked up a few more buckets to stretch its lead to 41-35 with 48 seconds on the clock.
The Spartans tried to answer by putting the Cats at the line.
NU, though, held on down the stretch for the win.
Nauman said this was the type of game she wants her team to play.
“We are going to have games like this all season,” she said. “I tell the girls after every close game, whether we win or lose, those are the games that we want to play.
“Those are the games from which we are going to grow and learn.”
North Union is now 4-2 for the season and is scheduled to return to action at Fairbanks on Monday.
North Union
Hoffman 5-2-12, Davis 3-3-10, Price 1-3-6, Kohler 1-3-5, Parish 1-2-4, Benedict 0-2-2, Spriggs 1-0-2, Moran 0-1-1. Totals 11-16-42.
Pleasant
Mattix 3-3-12, Columber 3-1-9, Simmons 3-0-6, Tipsword 2-0-4, Williams 1-1-3, Obenour 1-0-2, Waddell 0-1-1. Totals 13-6-37.