MONROVIA -- Friday's game with Monrovia didn't go the way NPHS Coach Kevin Smith had hoped it would

Monday, January 16, 2006

MONROVIA -- Friday's game with Monrovia didn't go the way NPHS Coach Kevin Smith had hoped it would.

The North Putnam High School girls' basketball team dropped its second West Central Conference game, 68-35, to Monrovia Friday, putting them at 0-2 in the WCC and 3-10 overall.

"They did what they wanted to," Smith said. " They came out and played and were well prepared."

Monrovia took control of the game from the start of the first quarter, scoring the first basket then going on small 6-0 run in the first three minutes of the game putting them up 8-2. The Bulldogs then scored four more unanswered points, giving them a 12-2 edge. The Cougars cut the Bulldogs lead to eight when Shay Skene and Laura Blaydes hit two inside jumpers, but that would be as close as the Cougars would ever come again to taking the lead. The Bulldogs closed the quarter out with an 11-0 run, for a 23-6 lead.

Th second quarter was no different.

The Bulldogs came out and posted a 7-0 run to start things off with, and it wasn't until the 5:31 mark when Blaydes hit two charity-shots to get the Cougars on the board for the quarter. No matter what the Cougars did, they couldn't get anything started and Monrovia wouldn't stop. For the remainder of the quarter, Monrovia kept posting little four and five point runs on the Cougars defense. The Bulldogs outscored the Cougars again, 22-11 to close the half out with a 45-17 lead.

The second half proved to better for North Putnam, but not by much.

The Cougars posted their best performance in the third quarter when they outscored the Bulldogs 13-12. Blaydes got the ball rolling for North Putnam when she went on a 5-0 run by herself in the first minute of the game. Unfortunately, Monrovia answered back with 8-0 run of its own. For the rest of the quarter, both teams exchanged baskets and runs.

"We started out slow," Smith said. "Our girls played hard and we came out in the second half with some good effort.

"It was just one of those night were we couldn't get anything going."

Monrovia came back in the fourth quarter and put the finishing touches on the Cougars. The Bulldogs came out and went on 9-0 run at the start of the last quarter and North Putnam wasn't able to score until the 4:15 mark when Shawna Johnston nailed an inside shot. The Bulldogs finished the game, out scoring the Cougars 11-5 in the last quarter.

"We have a lot of things to work on to get better," Smith said.

The Cougars offense was paced by Blaydes who had 12 points while Brooke Miller put up seven points and Johnston had six. Chelsea Greene chipped in four points while Skene had three points and Taylor Alles had two. Logan Doyle had two points.

The Cougars are back in action on Tuesday when they host Southmont with the junior varsity starting at 6 p.m.

At Monrovia

Monrovia 23 22 12 11 -- 68

North Putnam 6 11 13 5 -- 35

NP -- Alles 1 0-0 2, Blaydes 2 5-7 12, Diebold 0 0-2 0, Doyle 0 0-0 0, Doyle 0 1-2 1, Greene 2 0-0 4, Miller 2 3-5 7, Johnston 3 0-0 6, Skeme 1 1-2 3. Totals -- FG 11-35, FT 10-18, TP 35.

MO -- Smith 1 0-0 2, Long 3 2-2 8, Black 7 1-2 16, Parsons 0 0-0 0, Speck 4 2-4 12, Harris 1 0-0 2, Hadley 4 2-2 10, Dorsett 3 2-2 9, Long 0 0-0 0, Engle 0 0-2 0, Dillon 3 3-4 9. Totals -- FG 26- 48, FT 12-16, TP 68.

3pt - NP 1 (Blaydes), MO 2 (two players with one each), Steals -- NP 5 (Blaydes 3), MO 8 (Speck 3). Rebounds -- NP 14 (Blaydes 8), MO 22 (Long 6). Assists -- NP4 (Blaydes 2), MO 7 (two players with two each). Fouls -- NP 17, MO 18. Fouled Out -- Miller (NP).

Next Game -- The Cougars host Southmont Tuesday at 6 p.m.

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