Columbus North’s girls basketball win Saturday against Terre Haute South wasn’t the prettiest victory the Bull Dogs have had or will have this season.
But in a season in which North has had its trouble scoring points, it will take a win any way it can get it. The Bull Dogs kept the Braves to 21 points through three quarters and held on for a 53-45 Conference Indiana victory.
“We can definitely play a lot better, and we’re going to work on that this week in practice,” said junior Nadia Lomax, who led North with 11 points.
Terre Haute South (4-4, 0-1) scored the game’s first five points before the Bull Dogs (4-2, 2-0) used a 10-0 run, highlighted by a Kelsey Patberg 3-pointer, to take control. North led 10-7 after one quarter.
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The Bull Dogs maintained a 17-13 lead at halftime, despite 15 first-half turnovers.
“We got to recollect ourselves at halftime,” Lomax said. “(Coach Pat McKee) kind of pointed out our strengths in our offense against them, so we got to use them in the second half.”
North’s Annie Anderson opened the second half with a basket, then Kenzie Patberg came up with a steal and basket to push the lead to 21-13. The Braves were within 24-19 before the Bull Dogs pulled away with a 10-0 run, capped by back-to-back 3-pointers from Sierra Norman.
“I think we brought a lot of intensity,” said Anderson, who finished with 10 points. “We just have to make those spurts longer.”
The Braves used a 24-point fourth quarter to make things interesting. They got to within 51-45 with 15 seconds remaining, but a pair of free throws by Lomax put it away.
Taylor Pepperworth scored 16 of her game-high 26 points in the second half to lead Terre Haute South.
Kenzie Patberg added eight points and led North with seven rebounds. The Bull Dogs edged the Braves 32-30 on the boards.
North finished with 23 turnovers while forcing Terre Haute South into 21 miscues.
“I think we took care of the ball a lot better the second half,” Anderson said. “We kind of calmed down and got into our groove, which is good.”
