Freshman Lady Cat Allison Price (right) collides with Morgan Board (left) as the Lady Cougar tries to force her way to the basket. NU’s defense took the spotlight during a 76-38 victory. Other Lady Cats pictured include Jada Davis (3) and Abbey Price (5). (Journal-Tribune photo by Aleksei Pavloff)
Defense reigned supreme in Lady Cat country Wednesday night after North Union defeated Kenton Ridge 76-38 in a non-conference basketball matchup.
The tone of the game was set from the start.
North Union the contest Wednesday night with a few quick scores.
In the days leading up to the game, NU head coach Bre Jackson made defense a point of emphasis.
“We worked on our man press,” she said. “We knew they were post-heavy, but not so great in the guard division.”
North Union will face Indian Lake this Saturday with the Lady Lakers showing similar stature when it comes to height, Jackson said.
“We are guard-heavy and not big-heavy,” she said. “We just talked about exploiting other team’s weaknesses.”
There was no question North Union smelled blood in the water against Kenton Ridge. Sophomore Audrey Benedict made her presence felt, scoring an early bucket in the corner from three-point range.
The defensive scheme also showed up mightily. Fellow sophomore Abbey Price came through with several steals.
In one instance, she stripped the ball away and followed with a fast move to the basket for an easy layup.
The Lady Cats continued their roll in the first quarter.
They drained six trifectas to take a 26-9 lead by the end of the stanza.
“We always say our defense helps our offense,” Jackson said. “The defense definitely led and sparked our offense in getting those steals.
“We got the ball down the court and played fast.”
That trend continued throughout the rest of the game.
At the end of the first half, North Union notched 45 points, compared to Kenton Ridge’s 21.
That made the hopes for a Cougar comeback that much more difficult and moved the game closer to a running clock.
North Union climbed to a 61-33 lead by the end of the third period.
After just a couple minutes into the fourth quarter, a running clock was instituted as the Lady Cats went beyond the 35-point margin.
Benedict came away with a 30-point game, adding the team’s overall success that night.
“All of my kids can have 30-point nights,” said Jackson. “It just depends on their mindset and how the ball falls.
“Once you get hot, you stay hot, for the most part.
“I think tonight was a good night where [Kenton Ridge] didn’t transition well on defense and [Benedict] knew that,” the coach said.
On several occasions, North Union remained dominant just off second-chance opportunities as the Lady Cougars were seemingly one step behind.
With speed and grit, those two factors contributed to the decisive win.
While there was plenty to celebrate, the Lady Cats still need some work in the lab when it comes to being physical for rebounds.
“We’re not a big team,” Jackson admitted. “When we see teams that are bigger than us, we need to make sure we box out so we’re not giving other teams more chances to shoot.”
The Lady Cats will play at Indian Lake on Saturday, hoping to continue their conference win streak (1-0).
North Union
Benedict 13-1-30, Davis 4-1-10, 4-2-10, 3-0-8, Hall 3-0-7, Amstutz 1-0-2, Moran 2-0-4, Price 1-1-3, Wills 1-0-2. Three-point goals: Benedict 3, Davis 2, Wedding 2, Hall.
Kenton Ridge
Wildermuth 0-0-0, Montgomery 2-0-6, Hall 2-0-4, Board 5-1-14, Jones 4-2-10, Rose 2-0-4, Wilke 0-0-0, Ferry 0-0-0. Three-point goals: Montgomery 2, Board 3.