GIRLS' ROUNDUP: Cougars improve to 3-1; Cubs get first win

COVINGTON — North Putnam improved to 3-1 on the young girls’ basketball season with a 49-4 win over Covington.

“This is a big win for us,” NP coach Jarrod Duff said. “We had to overcome a lot of adversity.

“Dana Tennis played really well and hit some shots,” he added. “I’ve been telling her she is due. She’s been just a little off in our first 3 games, but came up big tonight.”

Tennis had a 3-pointer in each of the first three quarters in scoring 10 points.

Duff thought Payton Lyons also hit some big shots in the fourth quarter.

“She hit them when we were struggling a little bit offensively,” he said. “Her hitting three three-point shots was a huge shot in the arm for us.”

The Cougars were led in scoring by sophomore point guard Hannah Sims, who had a career-high 18 points.

“Hannah Sims was huge for us tonight,” Duff said. “If you look at the number of points she scored, that doesn’t tell the entire story about the night she had.

“She was as poised and patient with the ball as she has been over the last two years,” he added. “I️ was proud of how we took care of the ball late in the game. We did what you have to do with a lead. “We didn’t turn it over, made them foul us, and hit enough free throws to seal the win.”

Duff thought his team’s effort and energy on the defensive end was “really good” for most of the game.

“We had a few stretches in the second half where we didn’t have as much effort and energy as we need to have,” Duff added. “But, for the most part, our defense was solid.”

NORTH PUTNAM (49) — Simmerman 0 0-0 0, Sims 4 10-19 18, Runnells 2 0-0 6, Young 0 0-0 0, Osburn 3 0-0 6, Lyons 3 0-0 9, Day 0 0-0 0, Gibson 0 1-2 1, Tennis 3 1-2 10, Gierke 0 0-0 0, O’Neal 1 1-2 3. Totals 14 FG, 15-31 FT, 49 TP

COVINGTON (43) — Koch 2 2-4 7, Noble 1 2-2 5, Chapman 2 5-6 11, McCoy 0 3-6 3, Morris 5 3-4 13, Dixon 0 2-2 2, Hinkle 0 2-2 2. Totals 10 FG, 19-26 FT, 43 TP

North Putnam 9 16 6 18 — 49

Covington 5 9 12 17 — 43

3-point goals — Lyons 3, Tennis 3, Koch, Noble, Chapman 2.

In other action:

• Greencastle 53, Southmont 38 — At New Market, the Tiger Cubs used a 26-point fourth quarter to break open a close game and record their first win of the season.

Southmont led 7-6 after one period and 17-15 at halftime, but the Tiger Cubs dominated the third period by a 12-4 margin for a 27-21 lead at the final stop.

Jalyn Duff had 21 points to lead the Tiger Cubs, while Rose White added 11, Seelye Stoffregen had eight and Bailey Shuee added six.

White had 11 rebounds.