Cougars doubled up by Mustangs

Sitting at .500 to start 2021, North Putnam looked to gain forward momentum in WIC girls’ basketball play as Edgewood visited Saturday night.

The Mustangs held a significant size advantage on the interior but the Cougars held inside duo Trista Helms and Kaiden Harrington to just two points.

Instead, the visitors used full court pressure and timely shooting from beyond the arc to carry the day, doubling up the hosts 56-28.

“It's not many times a coach probably says this after getting beat by 28, but I thought we played really well,” North Putnam head coach Lukas Haworth said about the team’s execution of the game plan. “Edgewood came into tonight getting nearly 80 percent of their scoring from drives, posts and offensive rebound putbacks.

“After seeing that and them having so much size and driving ability we knew we had to limit transition points, keep the ball out of the paint and we did a phenomenal job with both. They came in shooting only 27 percent from the three-point line so we knew we had to live with something and unfortunately they made us pay.”

Carly Sherfield opened the contest with a three-point play that was answered with a pair of baskets from Kyla Willis as North Putnam (5-6) took its only lead of the night at 4-3.

Claire Sherfield put Edgewood (9-6) back in front with a drive while Zoe Powell and Trista Helms extended the lead with baskets on the interior.

After a pair of Reghan Christy free throws, Carly Sherfield hit the first of four threes in the game while Marin Davies had a basket canceled out by a Claire Sherfield putback at the horn as the Mustangs took a 14-9 lead into the second quarter.

A slow start to the frame was finally ended as Clara Clark hit a three for Edgewood two minutes into the period.

Ashley Weir scored the only North Putnam basket of the second quarter soon after with a pair of free throws from Davies and Annabelle Gross accounting for the rest of the Cougar scoring in the half.

Defensively, the hosts limited Edgewood to only a jumper and a putback the remainder of the half but trailed 21-13 at halftime as a result.

“Against a team like Edgewood you have to stand up and be tough defensively, which we did, but you've also got to shoot it really well and that just didn't happen for us tonight,” Haworth said as the Cougars were 4-of-19 from the field in the first half. “We definitely have a lot to take away from this one and will definitely be better for it.”

The biggest damage was done in the third quarter as Edgewood dropped 24 points to seal the game away.

It took time for the Mustang motors to rev up but once Carly Sherfield hit a three two minutes in the baskets came thick and fast as Sherfield added a three-point play, Clark connected on a three and Taylor Minnick scored seven-straight points.

North Putnam’s offense, meanwhile, was stymied by increasingly effective full court pressure from the visitors that, while not always recording steals, sped up the Cougars in a way that led to multiple empty possessions.

Christy broke a 12-0 run with a three that Clark answered in the final minute as Edgewood took a 45-20 lead into the final quarter.

Davies hit a three and Willis scored from the field in the fourth quarter but even there, the Mustangs still had the final say as Carly Sherfield hit two more threes to help the visitors double up the Cougars and move to 6-1 in WIC play while the hosts fell to 1-4 in the conference.

“Everything looks better when the ball is going in and looks worse when it's not, and for us tonight it was not,” Haworth said about the offense. “It wasn't a lack of executing the offense or poor shot selection, it just didn't fall our way tonight.

“Edgewood did take more shot attempts than us but, except for a short run in the third, we did a good job of handling the ball and getting good looks.”

Scoring

Edgewood (14-35 2FG; 8-23 3FG; 3-4 FT) — Ca. Sherfield 18, Clark 11, Minnick 10, Cl. Sherfield 4, Flynn 4, Powell 4, Miles 2, Helms 2

North Putnam (6-21 2FG; 2-21 3FG; 10-23 FT) — Willis 8, Christy 6, Davies 6, Gross 3, Brewer 3, Weir 2