With the possiblity of high school sports being shut down because of increasing COVID-19 cases, Columbus North decided to hold its girls basketball senior night on Friday.
All four North seniors got the start against New Albany, and they proceeded to give North a big lead early. Alexa McKinley, Madison White, Emily Herndon and Kanon Matsuno helped spark North to a 22-3 advantage in what would become an 82-41 victory.
“I thought we came out strong,” said White, who hit a pair of first-quarter 3-pointers on her way to a 14-point night “We had a lot of energy, and we were focused and ready to go, and I think that definitely helped a lot at the beginning.”
North (3-1) forced New Albany (1-3) into seven turnovers in the first quarter and 26 for the game.
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“I think our defense was really good in the beginning and really got us going scoring-wise,” said McKinley, who scored 15 points.
North extended its lead to 45-22 at halftime and 62-27 after three quarters.
“I thought we did good starting out,” said Herndon, who scored eight points. “We started out strong, and then throughout the game as it went on, we kept hustling, kept pushing the ball, which really helped us.”
Sophomore Lauren Barker led North with 16 points. Junior Kylah Lawson added 15 points and 12 rebounds, leading North to a 39-37 advantage on the boards.
“I think we had good energy, and we made some good shots,” said Matsuno, who made a free throw. “I’m just glad we got the opportunity to have senior night.”
Herndon agreed.
“I’m glad that we got to get it in early in the season since we weren’t really sure,” Herndon said. “But I hope we make it to our last home game so we can have another senior night.”
North coach Pat McKee praised his four seniors and hopes to be able to continue coaching them the rest of the season.
“I thought they all stepped up and had nice games,” McKee said. “I was really pleased with them and the whole team. I thought as that game went on, we pushed the ball really well. We really attacked the basket and then defensively, while early in the game, we weren’t quite as sharp as we needed to be, but as the game wore on, I thought we got better and better with our foot placement and sliding to places rather than kind of jumping at people.”
