Columbus North’s Olivia Johnson brings the ball down the court against New Albany at Columbus North, Friday, Nov. 18, 2022.
The Republic file photo
It was a young and relatively inexperienced girls basketball team that took the floor for Columbus North this summer.
Still, Bull Dogs coach Brett White was pleased with what he saw in the combined 34 games between two varsity and one JV team during the month of June, when coaches are permitted to work with their teams in practice and game settings.
“I thought we had a positive month,” White said. “We have a good mix of some returnees that are taking on some new roles this year and are mixing that with some new freshmen that have an opportunity to play some roles, as well.”
North played in nine events. The main varsity group played 14 games and went 10-4, with two of the losses coming against Westfield in the Indiana Wesleyan team camp.
“I felt that was a positive for us,” White said. “We were able to play some good schools.”
The Bull Dogs concluded the summer the last weekend in June by going went 3-1 in the Charlie Hughes Shootout at Mt. Vernon and Hamilton Southeastern.
North lost two full time and one part-time starter to graduation. The Bull Dogs also played the summer without last year’s leading rebounder, Kathryn Wilson, who won the Girls Tennis Singles State championship the second weekend in June. White said it is not looking like Wilson, who committed to play tennis at Purdue a few days after winning the state title, will play basketball her senior year.
“We have returnees, but most of them had limited roles last year,” White said. “We’re mixing in some youth, as well. The good thing is, we have a lot of depth. We have a lot of people that can play, but it’s going to take some time to get the experience that we need.”
North has only two incoming seniors — Olivia Johnson, who was a part-time starter, and Kaitlin White. Sophomore Miley McClellan and junior Kennedy Horn were starters for most of the season, and junior Hadassah Hurt was a part-time starter.
Incoming freshman Kaylie Harmon was the Bull Dogs point guard for most of the summer. Two other freshmen — Avery Johnson and Ava Wilson — also saw varsity action.
Junior Sydney Johnson and sophomore Kenna Conrad saw significant action this summer. Three other incoming juniors — Reagan Babb, Lily Priest and Paige Terry — saw some action with the varsity.
“I’m excited about our season coming up,” Brett White said. “We kind of use the summer as a way to try out some new ideas. We worked on playing with a little more pace than we have in the past because I feel like we have some people that can shoot the basketball. Maybe we can push the pace a little more.”
Perhaps the highlight of the summer came on June 12 when the Bull Dogs were able to play a game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, home of the Indiana Pacers and Fever. North beat Bloomington North that afternoon, then stayed to watch the Fever play the Washington Mystics that evening.
“That was a neat experience for the girls,” Brett White said. “They found out pretty quickly the longer floor was a little bit different (longer). But the atmosphere and the experience was a positive for us.”
