Columbus North’s sectional opener against a four-win Shelbyville team was supposed to be a breeze for the Bull Dogs.
The Golden Bears had other ideas.
Shelbyville gave North everything it wanted Tuesday night before the Bull Dogs scored the game’s final 10 points to pull away for a 61-45 win in the first round of the Class 4A Columbus East Sectional.
"Shelbyville played hard and focused and did a great job," North coach Pat McKee said. "I don’t think we overlooked them. We struggled to get to game speed. It was that way at the beginning of the year, and it’s still that way at times now. We have to do a better job of getting to game speed more consistently."
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The win was the 200th of McKee’s career. He is only in his ninth year, all at North.
"It means we’ve had tremendous players and tremendous assistant coaches and a supportive parent group," McKee said. "It has very little to do with me and a whole lot to do with my assistants and parent group. I just happened to be in the right spot at the right time."
The Bull Dogs (17-7), who snapped a three-game losing streak, advance to a semifinal matchup with the host Olympians at around 7:30 p.m. Friday. Bloomington South and East Central, which beat Bloomington North 54-27 in Tuesday’s first game, will play in the 6 p.m. opener.
The Golden Bears (4-20) jumped out to an early 5-0 lead on the Bull Dogs before 3-pointers by Sierra Norman and Annie Anderson sparked a 21-5 run to finish the quarter, giving North a 21-10 lead.
"I don’t think our minds were focused in the beginning, which affected how we played in the long run," Anderson said. "But thankfully, we were able to play as a team throughout the game and pull out a win. You have to fight every game to move on and make the season last as long as we can."
The Bull Dogs couldn’t pull away from Shelbyville over the middle two quarters. North led only 36-26 at halftime and 49-39 after three quarters after the Golden Bears played the Bull Dogs to a stalemate over those 16 minutes.
Shelbyville, after back-to-back 3-pointers from Jaidyn Tackett and Megan Eads, cut the lead to 51-45 with 3:18 remaining. But then Alexa McKinley hit a 3-pointer to push the lead to nine, then hit 5 of 6 free throws to ice it.
"I just knew that we needed to score, and I needed to get to the free-throw line," McKinley said. "They were purposely fouling, so I know I had to try to make my free throws to extend our lead."
McKinley finished with a game-high 18 points to lead four North players in double figures.
Madison White scored a career-high 15 points for the Bull Dogs. White played extended minutes in the absence of Nadia Lomax, North’s lone senior, who injured a knee in Thursday’s loss at Roncalli.
"I knew when we found out that Nadia wasn’t going to be playing today, there was going to be open opportunities for me, so I just had to come in with confidence and try to help out wherever I could," White said. "I just never thought I’d have 15 points in my first sectional game because last year, I didn’t dress (for sectional)."
Anderson finished with 12 points, and Sierra Norman added 10 for North. Freshman Kylah Lawson, who started in place of Lomax, grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Bull Dogs to a 31-23 advantage on the boards.
"(White) stepped up and made some shots," McKee said. "I thought Alexa made some shots. There was a stretch where Annie stepped up and made two or three shots. Down at the very end, Tessa (Lomax) made a couple plays. Early, Sierra made shots. We got plays from a variety of people, and we’re pleased with their ability to step up and do that."
