North girls pull out victory at Franklin

FRANKLIN — It would be difficult for Columbus North girls basketball coach Pat McKee to piece together an appealing highlight reel from Tuesday night’s game at Franklin.

But while it may not have been the most aesthetically pleasing of performances, the Bull Dogs managed to do enough to head home with a hard-earned 31-24 victory.

“Right now, any win’s a good win,” McKee said. “(The Grizzly Cubs) compete really hard, and they made us compete as well. We missed some shots that I think we can hit, but their intensity maybe caused a couple of misses — and we made enough shots and made enough free throws, especially at the end.”

A long jumper from Kyra Baker got Franklin (10-9) within a basket one last time at 26-24 with 3:05 left in the game, but North’s Annie Anderson converted a layup at the 1:50 mark to make it a two-possession game again. Three late free throws from Tessa Lomax, who had struggled from the line earlier in the season, helped the Bull Dogs (15-4) put it away.

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The Grizzly Cubs got out to an early 7-6 lead before enduring a stretch of 8:05 without a field goal. North had its own offensive struggles, but was still able to take advantage of the Franklin drought by getting inside and drawing fouls.

Alexa McKinley, who led the visitors with nine points, accounted for 10 of North’s 18 attempts from the free throw line on a night when Franklin was just 1 for 2.

“I tried to get to the free-throw line to get my shot going,” McKinley said.

The Bull Dogs scored nine straight points to pull ahead 15-8 before Franklin got a fast-break bucket from Kuryn Brunson just before the first-half buzzer to make it an 18-12 game.

Franklin’s shooting woes were compounded by 18 turnovers, but North had 15 giveaways of its own as both teams struggled to find an offensive rhythm.

The Grizzly Cubs were within 20-18, midway through the third period after Hailee Robbins and Brunson combined for six straight points, but miscues kept them from sustaining momentum for long enough to get over the hump.

Robbins led all scorers with 13 points for Franklin.

McKee attributed some of the Bull Dogs’ offensive struggles to a 10-day layoff between games, but he was proud of his squad’s perseverance on a rough night.

“We certainly talk about, ‘Don’t let offense affect your defense,’” he said, “and I thought tonight, we kept our focus, and we played hard on the defensive end.”