North Putnam girls on five-game skid after loss

Saturday, December 17, 2011

CLAYTON -- From the opening whistle Cascade's Cadets hit the gas against North Putnam's girls squad and didn't let up, beating the Cougars 62-15.

The girls had little chance to retaliate against a dominate combination of speed and accuracy. It didn't help that the North Putnam squad turned the ball over 33 times, with 17 of those turnovers during Cascade's explosive first half.

North Putnam head coach Jim Brothers said the team fell behind and couldn't find a way to recover because of the turnovers.

"Cascade is obviously really good," Brothers said. "We did good to start. We just didn't take care of the ball."

LeeAnn Davis was the reason the Cougars stayed close in the beginning, scoring the first seven points to keep the team close. The Cougars got to 8-7 early on before Cascade hit a three-pointer and didn't look back. With 2:30 left in the first quarter and 13-9 on the scoreboard, Cascade pulled away with a 19-point run that went through the first quarter to 5:38 left in the second quarter. A free throw by Kensy Asbell finally ended the run at 31-10. Cascade then went on a 13-point run to end the half, with Bethany Wiatt scoring just before the end of the half to make it 44-12.

In the first half, Cascade tripped up the Cougars with double teams and traps, forcing the Cougars to make bad passes and rush plays.

"We talk about valuing the ball," Brothers said. "That quickness is hard to simulate. We get out there and go too fast in the head."

In the third period, North Putnam was able to hold back the Cascade rush and force many missed shots. But it couldn't take advantage of a softer coverage and other opportunities, shooting 1 for 16 in the quarter. A free throw shot from Megan Robinson was all the offense could muster for North Putnam, but the defense was able to limit the Cadets to only four points.

"We battled pretty hard," Brothers said.

The Cadets offense stayed cool in the final quarter, but so did North Putnam's, scoring only on a rebound shot from Cayla Kientz.

North Putnam's next game will be against Western Boone and Speedway in a tourney match up.

At Cascade

Cascade 20 29 4 9 -- 62

North Putnam 9 3 1 2 -- 15

North Putnam -- 3-22 FG, 2-12 3-FG, 3-12 FT

Davis 7, Robinson 4, Kientz 2, Wiatt 1, Asbell 1