Turnovers, cold shooting costs North Putnam girls against Monrovia

Senior Madi Asbell scans the floor for an open teammate in the fourth quarter. Asbell led the Cougars with seven points. (Banner Graphic/JARED JERNAGAN)

ROACHDALE -- A 16-2 Monrovia run to close the first half doomed the North Putnam girls' basketball team Friday as the Cougars lost to the visiting Bulldogs 49-29.

A turnover-free stretch and 5-for-7 shooting to open the game gave North Putnam (1-10, 0-2 WCC) a 15-8 lead early in the second quarter.

Unfortunately, a layup by senior Bethany Wiatt to open the second quarter proved to be the Cougars' final bucket of the first half. They only added three more in the second half.

"That's something we struggle with is making shots," Cougar coach Curtis Lawrence said. "We made eight tonight, and you're not going to win many games when you're doing that."

The coach said he liked what he saw from his team, particularly early. The Cougars carried out the gameplan well, particularly defensively, where they forced the Bulldogs to settle for outside shots.

The plan worked early, as Monrovia missed all seven of its first-quarter attempts from long range.

"Our plan tonight was to pack the zone and make them shoot some outside shots and hit those," Lawrence said. "It worked for a majority of the first half. We got a lead and were looking pretty good; we were rebounding well against them."

Monrovia came back fast, however, as guard Bailee Keen buried a pair of 3-pointers to spur the Bulldog run going into the half.

The junior finished the game with 15 points, sharing the team lead with senior Kristal Smith.

"It hurt us that Monrovia closed the half on the run and that was something we weren't able to recover from," Lawrence said.

The second half was more of the same, with the Bulldogs not capitalizing on the opportunities provided by Cougar turnovers and offensive rebounds.

The Cougars' biggest opportunity came at the free throw line, as Monrovia was whistled for 19 fouls. North did not capitalize, making just 12-of-28 foul shots.

Madi Asbell led the Cougars with seven points. Alex Land added five more.

Friday began a unique stretch of the season for the Cougars, who had not played since Dec. 20.

"Not only (were we) coming off a 28-day layoff, but getting ready for four games in five nights," Lawrence said. "So it's a tough stretch for us right now."

Even after a 20-point loss, the coach found some building blocks going into today's matchup at Fountain Central.

"I told the girls after the game that I thought we did a good job for most of the game of controlling the tempo," Lawrence said. "I think the intensity we had defensively tonight in the first half was pretty good, so we'll build off that."

The Cougars tip off at 3:30 p.m. today at Fountain Central, followed by 7:30 p.m. Monday game with Southmont.

Monrovia (8-8, 2-1 WCC): Keen 6-16 0-0 15, Smith 4-10 7-10 15, Knieper 2-7 2-2 6, Nay 2-8 0-0 5, Delph 2-5 0-2 4, Whitaker 1-4 2-2 4, Longere 0-4 0-0 0, Hunter 0-3 0-0 0, Tharp 0-1 0-0 0, Speck 0-0 0-0 0, Price 0-0 0-0 0, Russell 0-0 0-0 0, Bennett 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 17-58 FG, 11-16 FT, 49 points.
North Putnam (1-10, 0-2 WCC): Asbell 3-8 1-2 7, Land 1-2 2-3 5, Wiatt 1-8 2-3 4, Nauert 2-3 0-2 4, Millican 1-4 2-8 4, Evans 0-1 3-6 3, Mindiola 0-5 2-4 2, Clodfelter 0-5 0-0 0, Ma. Smith 0-1 0-0 0, Laffin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 8-37 FG, 12-28 FT, 29 points.

Team stats