North Putnam girls pick up seventh win of season

MARSHALL — North Putnam coach Jarrod Duff felt his team “didn’t play well” for most of the game but was still able to come away with its seventh win of the season with a 41-33 triumph over Turkey Run.

“We made poor decisions with the ball and we were extremely tentative on the offensive end,” he said. “The toughness we showed tonight was the most encouraging thing for me. I truly believe we took a huge step forward as a team and a program.”

The hosts jumped out to an 11-5 lead after one quarter, but a strong second quarter by the Cougars cut the deficit to 13-12 at halftime. Turkey Run extended its lead to 26-22 after three quarters, but the Cougars poured in 19 fourth-quarter points — including 11 from the free-throw line — to escape with the win.

Duff noted his team was able to overcome some adversity to pull out the victory.

“Baylee Osburn got hit in the eye in the first half and didn’t play much the rest of the game,” he said. “Hannah Sims rolled her ankle and was out for a long stretch in the second half.”

The Cougars were able to overcome a tough night of shooting the basketball.

“What we did have tonight was great energy and effort defensively,” Duff said. “We also had some girls really step up and play well. Kinzey Young has played really well defensively the last couple of weeks, but struggled offensively. Tonight she was fantastic on both ends of the court.”

Duff noted that Abby Simmerman came in and played some huge minutes for the Cougars.

“She played with aggressiveness on both ends of the court,” he said. “Jaden Day stepped up and played with a lot of energy on the defensive end. Hannah came back in late in the game, handled the ball well and made some huge free throws for us. It was a total, grind it out, team effort tonight.”

“Good teams find a way to win and when some people aren’t playing well, you pick your teammates up,” Duff added. “When we were at Edgewood last week, Mia Runnells stepped up and had a great second half for us. It’s nice to see that different girls can step up and make plays when we need them to.“

Sims led the Cougars with 11 points, while Young added 10 and Payton Lyons had seven.

NORTH PUTNAM (41) — Simmerman 2 0-0 4, Sims 2 7-9 11, Runnells 1 3-5 5, Young 3 4-5 10, Osburn 0 1-2 1, Lyons 3 1-4 7, Day 1 1-3 3, Gibson 0 0-2 0, Tennis 0 0-0 0, Gierke 0 0-0 0. Totals 12 FG, 17-30 FT, 41 TP

TURKEY RUN (33) — Jones 2 0-1 6, Worth 0 0-0 0, Shirley 0 0-0 0, Jeffers 0 0-0 0, York 3 2-3 8, Johnson 0 0-0 0, Cook 2 1-4 5, B.Snodgrass 0 0-0 0, E.Snodgrass 3 6-10 12, Marshal 1 0-0 2. Totals 11 FG, 9-18 FT, 33 TP

North Putnam 5 7 10 19 — 41

Turkey Run 11 2 13 7 — 33

3-point goals — Jones 2.