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Fourth-quarter surge lifts Cougars
ROACHDALE -- Going into Friday's girls' basketball contest between North Putnam and Cloverdale, fans expected to see a tight ball game and the two squads didn't disappoint. But with the emotions of homecoming spurring them one, the Cougars utilized a fourth quarter surge to cruise to a 40-34 win.
Cougars' head coach Curtis Lawrence said Friday's game was key to what he hopes will be a strong finish from his ball club.
"It was a very good win for us," he said. "We knew going in Cloverdale was one we could get. We have a chance to win three out of our last four, which is nice going into sectional, but it started tonight."
After leading for much of the first half of Friday's game, North Putnam's offense went flat in the third quarter. It converted on just two of its shots and attempted zero free throws in the quarter.
On the flip side, Cloverdale put together its best eight minutes of the night, tallying 13 points and moving into the lead, 26-24, heading into the final quarter.
Lawrence said his squad's third quarter struggles was nothing new and something the team is looking to turn around sooner rather than later.
"We're known for having a bad quarter, percentages tell us that it's the third quarter, and it happened again tonight," Lawrence said. "We got down two going into the fourth, but the kids didn't quit and they were determined they were going to get out of here tonight with a win and get homecoming kicked off to the right start for the boys."
Facing a two point deficit, North Putnam found its center and regain the form from the first half and didn't look back. Cougars' center Adriana Millican scored eight points in the final quarter to help power a 16 point run that ultimately led to victory for her squad.
While the Cougar locker room hummed with excitement following their win, the Cloverdale locker room was quite and reflective.
CHS head coach Matthew Langdon said his team is playing well together, but have to do things more consistently to see the wins start piling up.
"It's another frustrating loss," he said. "The second one in a week that we had a lead going into the fourth quarter. We did good things that's what's a little more frustrating about these loses at the end of the year. We're doing some good things to put ourselves in a position to win the game, but we're not doing the little things.
"If you do the little things in the first quarter and second quarter, you talk on defense every possession -- things you can control -- I feel like our leads would be bigger and we'd be able to pull away. But we're not doing those little things."
The first half saw the Cougars start strong and hold the advantage for much of opening 16 minutes. However, the Clovers stayed within striking distance and tied the game at 13 all with less than three minutes to go before the half.
North Putnam responded with Alex Land and Madison Asbell connecting on four free throws. Asbell added a late buck to give North Putnam the lead at 19-13 at the break.
Despite the Cougars' struggles in the third quarter, Lawrence said his team's march to sectional began on Friday. With just a handful of game before the tournament begins, Lawrence said each game is of great importance.
"They're huge," Lawrence said. "Obviously we still have things to work on. We have one possible sectional opponent left on our schedule, so we can tweak some things these next couple of ball games. We put in some new wrinkles from tonight game based on what we saw Cloverdale do and what Matthew has done with them.
"I've been telling the kids we don't want to look like the same team we've looked like all year when sectional rolls around. You've got to have some tricks up your sleeves and some wrinkles, so we're going to keep working on things."
For the Clovers, Langdon emphasized it was focusing on the little things. He said his team has looked at itself in the mirror and knows what they have to get better at. Now it's just a matter of getting the job done.
"We went through a stretch where we asked the team and ourselves 'are we in shape? Is that why small mistakes are happening?' and we watched film and decided that just wasn't the case," Langdon said. "It was just mental letdowns -- a little bit loss of focus.
"This is a good group of girls that are a good team and have good teamwork, but that starts with an individual effort. We have to have individuals in that locker room step up and say I'm going to be the first one that talks on every possession or goes in there and is strong enough to draw a foul."
Landgon went on to say he thinks once a few individuals step up to the challenge, the entire team will follow suit.
The Clovers are back in action today when they host Clay City at 1:30 p.m. North Putnam returns to the court Tuesday when it travel to Turkey Run for a 7:30 tip off.
At North Putnam
Cloverdale 6 7 13 8 -- 34
North Putnam 7 12 5 16 -- 40
Cloverdale -- Stevens 11, Dorsett 6, Clark 6, Me. Helterbrand 3, Winders 2, Hamm 2, Worthington 4. Totals: 4-42 FG, 19-25 FT, 24 TP.
North Putnam -- Millican 10, Wiatt 9, Asbell 9, Clodfelter 4, Nauert 4, Land 2, Mindiola 2. Totals: 16-60 FG, 7-12 FT, 40 TP.