Avery Johnson
Columbus North picked up the pace early on Thursday night and never let up.
The Bull Dogs picked up the tempo to put points on the board fast, and Shelbyville couldn’t keep up the pace as North remained unbeaten with a 73-43 girls basketball victory.
The Bull Dogs (7-0) and Golden Bears (4-2) were tied at 16-16 until North closed out the opening quarter with a 9-0 run. Miley McClellan and Avery Johnson, usually starters for the Bull Dogs, came off the bench to provide another burst of energy.
“Getting off to a good start was so important and playing as a team from the gun. We did a really, really great job of doing that and setting the tone for the game” said Johnson, who finished with a game-high 16 points. “Everybody was shooting well, and we were all playing as a team and passing the ball really well and sharing it, and it all worked out. We were pushing it up the court really well, too.”
Riley Sims
Riley Sims and Sydni Schiefer, who usually come off the bench, got the start for North. Sims started last week against Terre Haute North in place of Johnson, who had an ankle injury. Sims shared game-high honors with Johnson, scoring 16 points. Schiefer and Kenna Conrad each grabbed a team-high five rebounds.
“(Sims and Schiefer) are both confident players, and they’re a key part of our rotation,” North coach Brett White said. “We feel comfortable with a lot of different girls, and tonight, we just had a slightly different lineup, but they stepped in and played really well.”
The Bull Dogs pushed the lead to 44-25 at halftime. Toward the end of the third quarter, they put the game on ice with a 13-0 run to increase the margin to 71-33 and trigger a running clock for the fourth quarter.
“We talked a lot about getting off to good starts, having excitement and having balance. We did that offensively tonight,” White said. “Defensively, I wasn’t happy with our start, but we were able to turn that around and start getting stops and still had the enthusiasm and effort on the offensive end, so I was really proud of what we did.”
Kaylie Harmon joined Sims and Johnson in double figures with 14 points. Nine different North players got in the scoring column Thursday.
“We have a number of girls that can score the basketball. From night-to-night, it’s going to be a different person that leads us,” White said. “Avery’s been nursing a bum ankle, but she played really well tonight and gave us a spark off the bench, which is out of the ordinary for her, but she handled that role well tonight, but we always feel like we can have different people that can step up and score for us, and that’s one of our strengths.”
Columbus North 73, Shelbyville 43
Shelbyville;16;9;11;7;—;43
Columbus North;25;19;27;2;—;73
Shelbyville (4-2): Chloe Higdon 1 0-0 2, Melia Cartwright 2 0-0 5, Hannah Baker 4 3-4 14, Maddi Jones 0 0-0 0, Savannah Collins 4 3-4 13, Aliva Lee 0 0-0 0, Jayla Ash 3 0-0 6, Reese Fortune 0 0-0 0, Kiah Pandoli 1 1-2 3. Totals: 15 7-10 43.
Columbus North (7-0): Kenna Conrad 2 0-0 4, Ava Wilson 2 2-2 6, Claire Finney 1 2-2 5, Riley Sims 5 5-6 16, Sydni Schiefer 3 0-0 6, Riley Hurt 1 0-0 2, Ava Kerber 0 0-0 0, Kaylie Harmon 5 2-2 14, Miley McClellan 2 0-2 4, Avery Johnson 5 2-2 16, Hadley Andreson 0 0-0 0, Addy Wheatley 0 0-0 0, Bella Kintner 0 0-0 0. Totals: 26 13-16 73.
3-point goals: Shelbyville 6 (Baker 3, Collins 2, Cartwright). Columbus North 8 (Johnson 4, Harmon 2, Finney, Sims).
