Columbus North forced 21 steals and allowed only four second quarter points in Tuesday night’s girls basketball game against Greenwood.
The result was an easy 72-35 victory for the Class 4A No. 10 Bull Dogs.
Imani Guy was a defensive force with four steals and three blocks to go with her 10 points and five rebounds. Maliah Howard-Bass lead the team in scoring with 18 points and ended the game with seven steals.
North opened the game with a full-court press, which forced 10 steals in the first quarter. North coach Pat Mckee said Guy is usually always active on the defensive side of the ball.
“She has to be smart active, and tonight she was,” McKee said. “She avoided foul trouble. Sometimes, she is active but picks up fouls and we have to take her out. Tonight, I thought she was much more poised in making the decisions she needed to make.”
The Bull Dogs (5-2) got out to an early lead and were up by 24 points by halftime. That allowed McKee to empty his bench and let some of the younger junior varsity players get on the court.
Junior varsity player Chelsi Giesige got some quality playing time and ended the game with seven points, one steal and a block. Giesige said she was excited to get on the court and play.
“I haven’t gotten to play a lot this year, so I was really happy,” Giesige said. “I thought I brought a lot of energy off the bench. It felt pretty awesome because I was nervous in prior games but I felt confident in this game. When I scored my first basket, I knew I could score more.”
Agustina Fainguersch got some playing time, as well, ending with four points.
Last year, North had some big injuries and had to play some younger players who did not see much varsity time. McKee said it is critically important for the younger players to see the court in case the team finds itself in a situation like last year. He said any minutes they can get now will be helpful for the team in the future.
Greenwood (3-9) struggled to score points, but Ryan Bauer hit two 3-pointers and led the Woodmen with 12 points. Alex Kincaid added nine points.
Taft said he thinks his team did not compete well as a unit.
“I don’t think we competed very intelligently, Taft said. “Running up and down doesn’t mean you compete. Understanding what we’re trying to do is competing. That’s the problem with a young team.”
