INDIANAPOLIS — Columbus North extended its girls basketball winning streak to six games after beating Indianapolis Attucks 54-26 on Tuesday night.
The Bull Dogs started on a 12-3 run before a couple of 3-pointers helped the Tigers cut the North led to four points to start the second quarter. Kiara Barnett scored on three 3-pointers to help keep the Tigers in reach.
It was a low-scoring second quarter for both teams, with the Bull Dogs scoring 10 points and Attucks just five. North held a 27-16 lead at halftime, but its pressure defense helped open the gap in the final two quarters. The Bull Dogs forced 13 steals and 23 total turnovers.
“I think the defense in the third quarter was pretty darn good,” North coach Pat McKee said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t play quite as well earlier, but hopefully, we can capture what happened in the third quarter and extend that into more situations.”
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The Bull Dogs (9-3) started the second half on a 9-0 run that was sparked by the full-court pressure defense North had played nearly the entire game. The Bull Dogs allowed just one field goal the entire third quarter and pushed the lead to 43-18. Six different players scored points for North in the third quarter.
“The second half, our defense got better and we pressured them a whole lot more,” junior Tessa Lomax said. “We made them actually handle the ball, make some crisp passes and everything, and actually pressured them.”
Tessa Lomax, who led the Bull Dogs with 13 points, said the defense also helped get the momentum going offensively. North continued to maintain that energy into the fourth quarter.
Sierra Norman finished with nine points, while Alexa McKinley scored eight and Nadia Lomax added seven. Madison White scored all six of her points in the final eight minutes.
The Bull Dogs also prevented Barnett from scoring on any more 3-pointers the entire second half. Barnett led Attucks (0-9) with a game-high 15 points.
North will try to extend its win streak to seven against Terre Haute North at 2:30 p.m. Saturday. McKee said the main reason for the streak has been because of the defensive effort.
“We’ve played really good defense in the last four or five games,” McKee said. “Tonight, it wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t quite as good as it has been. Hopefully, it will continue to be at the high level it’s been.
