NORTH VERNON — Jennings County gave Columbus North a run for its money late in the game, but the Bull Dogs were able to withstand the pressure.
Late in the fourth quarter, with the Panthers forced to foul, North came through with big free throws late to hold on for a 67-62 girls basketball win.
Alexa McKinley finished 8 of 9 from the free-throw line, and Nadia Lomax went 6 of 7 for the team’s 14 of 16 shooting night at the line. McKinley finished with a game-high 20 points, and Lomax added 18.
The Bull Dogs led 65-62 late in the fourth quarter, but a 3-point attempt from the Panthers with 10 seconds left was off the mark, and Lomax sank both free throws to seal the win.
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“Our free throws were very key to winning the game,” Lomax said. “We turned the ball over a lot in the first half. We needed to take to control of that, and we did in the second half. When they started fouling us, we started making our free throws, and that is something we focus on a lot in practice.”
Jennings coach Kristi Sigler said the difference in the game was the early 5-0 run to start the third quarter by North (13-4), and those points were the difference on the final scoreboard.
“We were only down five at halftime, and I thought we played a pretty decent first half, but we didn’t knock down shots,” Sigler said. “That run (by North) was killer to start the second half, so we had to fight, fight, and fight in order to get back in the game. At the end of the game, it came down to execution. They were 14-of-16 and we were 8-of-13 from the line.”
The Panthers (8-7) got a great scoring effort from freshman Lily Ernstes, who also finished with a game-high 20 points.
“She never backed down,” Sigler said. “When teams see us and scout us, they focus on Callie Wilder. It often gets Lily loose a little bit, and she stepped up tonight and made a lot of key baskets.”
Jennings’ Addyson Kent finished with 17 points that included five 3-pointers and Kylee Matern added 17.
Along with McKinley’s 20 points and Lomax’s 18, Kylah Lawson added 10 points for the Bull Dogs.
North was balanced in scoring through most of the game until the free throws from Lomax and McKinley late.
“It was pretty good to make our free throws because they were continuously making 3s on us,” McKinley said. “I think it made it harder for them to guard us when they know that we have multiple threats that can score.”
