Columbus North senior basketball players, from left, Kenna Conrad, Miley McClellan and Addy Wheatley wait to present flowers to Roncalli’s senior players before a game in Memorial Gymnasium at Columbus North High School.
Tommy Walker | For The Republic
Last week, Columbus North went on the road and beat Silver Creek, which was ranked No. 1 in Class 3A at the time.
With the Dragons slipping to No. 3 in this week’s poll, Roncalli took over the top spot in 3A. The Bull Dogs had a chance to beat a second top-ranked girls basketball team in as many weeks Friday night, but the Royals spoiled their senior night with a 74-60 victory.
The second quarter was the difference in this game. North combined to outscore Roncalli by one point over the other three quarters, but the Royals held a 26-11 edge in the second. Roncalli was buoyed by 9-of-11 shooting from 3-point range in the first half.
“In that second quarter, we didn’t cover things the way that we’d worked on,” North coach Brett White said. “They were able to get some open shots, and they hit those shots. They shot it real well from the 3-point line there in the first half, and we were having to dig out of a hole the rest of the way.”
The Royals (21-3) scored the first basket of the second half to take their biggest lead at 41-24. The Bull Dogs (17-6) then scored the next eight points and closed the third quarter on a 15-5 run to cut the lead to 46-39 going to the fourth.
North got to within 48-42 on a 3-pointer by Riley Sims and 50-44 on a basket by Miley McClellan with 6:54 remaining. But Roncalli then scored seven consecutive points at the free-throw line, and the Bull Dogs couldn’t get closer than 11 the rest of the way.
“When they were getting to the rim, we weren’t as disciplined as we needed to be around the rim, and we ended up fouling them,” White said.
Kaylie Harmon scored 18 of her 20 points in the second half to lead North. McClellan finished with 11 points and nine rebounds, Sims scored 11 points and Avery Johnson added eight points.
Prior to the game, the Bull Dogs honored seniors McClellan, Conrad and Addy Wheatley.
“Overall, I think we’re on the right track,” White said. “We played a really good basketball team tonight. They’re No. 1 in 3A and have had success in the past and have a lot of girls back from last year. So we’re not hanging our heads based on the loss. We wanted to execute some things better than what we did, but the loss itself is going to allow us to learn, and we’re going to carry those lessons over into next week.”
North has a first-round bye in the Columbus East Sectional and will play Whiteland in the semifinals Feb. 6. White hopes a rigorous schedule to close the regular season will pay off next week.
“Our January schedule is set up that way,” White said. “We played (4A then-No. 10) Bloomington South and (4A No. 2) Center Grove and Silver Creek and Roncalli. We’re playing some of the top teams in the state, and that preparation is going to help us as we now head into sectional play.”
Roncalli 74, Columbus North 60
Roncalli;13;26;7;28;—;74
Columbus North;13;11;15;21;—;60
Roncalli (21-3): Ainsley Brown 0 0-0 0, Carly Feldman 2 5-6 10, Catie Rosko 3 5-6 12, Demi Goss 0 0-0 0, Lola Morelli 0 0-2 0, Brennah Cerny 6 2-2 18, Elliot Leffler 6 7-7 22, Lucy Swartz 1 2-3 4, Caroline Schottle 2 4-4 8. Totals: 20 25-30 74.
Columbus North (17-6): Kenna Conrad 2 0-0 4, Ava Wilson 2 1-2 6, Riley Sims 4 0-0 11, Sydni Schiefer 0 0-0 0, Ava Kerber 0 0-0 0, Kaylie Harmon 7 5-5 20, Rian Strietelmeier 0 0-0 0, Miley McClellan 5 1-4 11, Avery Johnson 3 2-2 8, Addy Wheatley 0 0-0 0. Totals: 23 9-13 60.
3-point goals: Roncalli 9 (Cerny 4, Leffler 3, Feldman, Rosko). Columbus North 5 (Sims 3, Wilson, Harmon).
