It didn’t take long for the Columbus North girls basketball team to put this game away quickly. The Bull Dogs went ahead double digits after the first quarter and never looked back to thump Bloomington North 60-39 in Friday night’s Conference Indiana girls basketball game.
Columbus North (8-4, 3-0) established great ball movement in the first quarter that helped it with open shots from the perimeter. Lauren Barker and Madison White combined to hit four 3-pointers in the first quarter to allow the Bull Dogs pull ahead 20-10 after the opening quarter.
After the Cougars (6-14, 2-2) got the opening basket of the second quarter, the Bull Dogs went on a 9-0 run to pull ahead 29-12. Columbus North held Bloomington North to only one field goal in the second quarter. That helped the Bull Dogs double up their scoring advantage on the Cougars and go ahead 34-14 at the half.
“(Our coaches) always to tell us to penetrate in the middle and kick back so that it will make shooters open for the good shot, and it helps to get a good shot,” Columbus North senior Kanon Matsuno said.
The Bull Dogs then slowly pulled out their starters in the third quarter, and the bench would finish out the game.
Barker led Columbus North with 14 points. Alexa McKinley had 12, White finished with 10 and Kylah Lawson added eight.
Mia Robbennolt led the Cougars with 12 points.
“We really wanted to get it done in the first quarter, and get momentum over the next three quarters,” McKinley said. “We made a lot of shots, fortunately, and that helped us out a lot.”
Columbus North will have a very busy slate next week with four games, two of which will be upcoming conference games at Bloomington South on Monday and home against Terre Haute North on Jan. 30, as it tries to stay unbeaten and claim the title. The Bull Dogs also host Rushville on Tuesday and play at Roncalli on Thursday.
The sectional draw will be at 7 p.m. Sunday, with East Central serving as the sectional host.
“We just have to make sure we can bring energy every game,” Matsuno said. “Our goal is to win the sectional, so we have to make sure we have to be ready for sectional. We’ll have to play hard every game.”
“I think it will definitely prepare us for sectional playing against a lot of different types of teams close together,” McKinley added.
