Sydney Bacon of North Union dribbles the ball while preparing to move to the basket against Springfield Shawnee on Wednesday. Bacon tallied six points during the Lady Cats’ 47-44 loss.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon)
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North Union’s girls basketball squad has seen its share of struggles this year.
The youthful team has struggled to put together more than two wins this season, but on Wednesday NU came close to making it three.
The Lady Cats couldn’t find their groove down the stretch, losing to Springfield Shawnee 47-44.
North Union opened the scoring as Sydney Bacon drove for a couple of early low post buckets.
That 4-0 lead, however, was the last time North Union was on top of the scoreboard.
The Lady Cats; defense didn’t have an answer for the Lady Braves’ inside game that was able to find lanes and drive to the hole.
NU was able to pick up four more points from the free throw line by the end of the quarter as Shawnee took a 12-8 lead.
North Union attempted to shoot the long ball during the ensing stanza.
The Lady Cats, though, struggled to find the bottom of the net.
Jordyn Hoffman was able to put in one shot from beyond the arc, but the Lady Cats could only pick up five points during the second quarter as the Lady Braves stretched their lead to 23-13 at the break.
After the turn, the Lady Cats turned on their offensive jets as they erased their 10-point deficit with 19 points in the quarter.
Alyssa Guy swished a pair of three-pointers as North Union puledl even with Shawnee at 32-32 at the end of the quarter.
NU took that scoring mentality into the final stanza as Journey Blevins picked up six points from the line to help her tally 15 for the game.
The Lady Cats added 12 points to their scoring total, but the Lady Braves were just a basket better.
The Lady Cats now sit at 2-12 on the season and will return to action on Saturday when they travel to Benjamin Logan.
Shawnee
Furness 4-3-14, DeMayo 3-6-13, Spitzer 1-4-6, Meeks 1-2-4, Malicki 1-2-4, Beers 0-3-3, Gray 1-1-3. Totals 11-18-47.
Three-point goals: Furness 3, DeMayo 1
North Union
Blevins 4-6-15, Guy 2-0-6, Bacon 3-0-6, Hoffman 1-1-4, Kohler 0-4-4, Amstutz 1-2-4, Deickert 1-1-3, Ruhl 1-0-2. Totals 13-14-44.
Three-point goals: Guy 2, Blevins 1, Hoffman 1