Knight girls get strong defensive effort in win over Cougars

North Putnam sophomore Baylee Osburn turns the corner against Northview's Sophia Buell in the first half of Friday's conference match-up.

Carey Fox photo

BRAZIL — The Northview girls got a dominant defensive peformance on Friday night against visiting North Putnam. The Knights held the Cougars scoreless for the first 15 minutes and 10 seconds of the first half on the way to a 46-8 Western Indiana Conference victory.

The Cougars didn’t have an answer for Northview’s size in the post as the Knights used six-footers Jenny and Olivia Lundy at both ends of the court to great effect.

Olivia Lundy scored seven first-quarter points Jenny Lundy added seven points as well. The pair were also effective in the full court trap that the Knights employed to force eight turnovers in the opening minutes. Northview raced out to a 22-0 lead at the first stop with Makayla Sparks adding a team-high eight points in the period.

Even after the Knights came out of the full court pressure, the Cougars had trouble getting to the rim as Jenny Lundy rejected several shots in the second period. Haley Richey added a 3-pointer for the Knights as the lead grew to 33-0 before a free throw by sophomore Hannah Sims broke the drought for the Cougars with 50 seconds remaining in the half.

Olivia Lundy scored two early buckets in the third period as part of her 15-point, six-rebound effort. Jenny Lundy would finish the game with 11 rebounds to go with nine points. Sparks tallied 12 for Northview, which subbed liberally over the final 12 minutes of the contest.

Sims finished with three points for the Cougars (4-8 overall, 0-2 WIC), who visit Riverton Parke on Tuesday. The Knights improve to 11-2 overall, 3-0 WIC) with a trip to the Vincennes Lincoln Tournament beginning on Dec. 22.

NORTHVIEW (46) — Sparks 5-13 2-2 12, Buell 0-3 1-2 1, Thompson 0-2 0-0 0, O. Lundy 7-7 1-2 15, J. Lundy 3-8 3-4 9, Nelson 0-0 0-0 0, Richey 1-6 0-3 3, Barger 1-6 0-0 2, Combs 1-1 0-0 2, Heaton 1-1 0-2 2, Kellett 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 19-47 7-18 46.

NORTH PUTNAM (8) — Sims 1-4 1-2 3, Runnells 1-2 0-0 2, Osborn 1-3 0-0 2, Lyons 0-10 0-0 0, Tennis 0-9 0-0 0, Simmerman 0-3 0-0 0, Young 0-6 0-0 0, Day 0-2 0-0 0, O’Neal 0-3 1-2 1, Gierke 0-1 0-0 0, Gibson 0-2 0-0 0. Totals: 3-45 2-4 8.

Northview 22 11 9 4 — 46

North Putnam 0 1 4 3 — 8

3-point field goals — Nv 1-15 (Richey 1-6, Sparks 0-4, Barger 0-2, J. Lundy 0-2, Buell 0-1), NP 0-13 (Tennis 0-7, Lyons 0-5, O’Neal 0-1). Total Rebounds — Nv 45 (J. Lundy 11, Barger 7, O. Lundy 6), NP 28 (Sims 6). Total Fouls — Nv 9, NP 12. Turnovers — Nv 17, NP 21.