Cougars snap two game skid

Thursday, January 21, 2010

ROACHDALE -- North Putnam's girls' basketball team used a strong start to snap a two-game losing streak with a 59-32 victory over Southmont Tuesday.

Coming into contest losers of six of their last seven games, the Cougars showed the intensity early on they wanted to end their losing skid. North Putnam (4-9) came out and outscored Southmont (0-14) 13-5 in the first quarter and never trailed the remainder of the way.

"Our five starters really did a good job of going out and setting the tone early tonight," North Putnam coach Jim Brothers said. "We came out with a lot of energy defensively and that fed our offense."

North Putnam forced Southmont into 20 turnovers in the opening half, going into the locker room with a comfortable 33-12 lead. The Cougars forced the Mounties into 35 turnovers for the game.

That defensive effort also translated to the offensive end, as the Cougars tied their season-high for points. Cougar senior Carlye McGaughey scored 12 of her game-high 14 points in the opening half.

"North Putnam played really well tonight," Southmont coach Reasley Thompson said. "They played with more confidence today than I have seen them play with all year. They set the tone with their defensive play and they forced a lot of our turnovers, so all the credit goes to North Putnam."

The Cougars shot 23-for-51 from the floor and 10 different players reached the scoring column. After the 14 points from McGaughey, junior Megan Robinson came off the bench for nine points, while junior Shelby Frey provided eight points off the bench.

"Offensively, we took a lot of good shots tonight and had good ball movement," Brothers said.

Coming off a 16-point performance in Saturday's loss to Riverton Parke, sophomore Stephanie Martin led the Mounties with 11 points. All of her points came in the third quarter.

After scoring just four points against Riverton Parke, freshman Jessi Chadd had 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the floor. Martin and Chadd combined to go 5-for-9 from 3-point range.

"It was good to see her get going offensively again," Thompson said. "We have confidence that she can shoot the ball, she just has to look for her shot more."

At Southmont

Southmont 5 7 16 4 -- 32

N Putnam 13 20 20 6 -- 59

Southmont

Booth 2-5 0-0 4, Nace 0-1 0-2 0, Berninger 0-0 0-0 0, Martin 4-10 0-2 11, Chadd 4-9 0-1 10, Hunley 3-5 0-1 7, Powers 0-1 0-0 0, Sloan 0-1 0-0 0, Black 0-3 0-0 0, Wirth 0-0 0-0 0, Martin 0-0 0-0 0, Tolin 0-0 0-0 0. Team Tootals -- 13-36 FG, 0-5 FT, 32 TP.

North Putnam

Pinney 2-3 2-2 6, Asbell 1-5 0-0 2, Malayer 2-2 0-0 4, McGaughey 6-11 0-0 14, Crosby 3-6 0-0 6, Me. Robinson 3-10 3-5 9, Stephenson 1-1 0-0 2, Frye 3-4 0-1 8, Lucas 0-3 2-2 2, Kientz 0-1 0-0 0, Matthews 0-1 0-0 0, Mo. Robinson 0-1 0-0 0. Team Totals -- 23-51 FG, 9-14 FT, 59 TP.

3-point goals -- Southmont 6-14 (Hunley 1-2, Booth 0-2, Martin 3-5, Chadd 2-4, Wirth 0-1), North Putnam 4-8 (Frye 2-2, Me. Robinson 0-2, McGaughey 2-4, Kientz 0-1). Rebounds -- Southmont 26 (Martin 8, Nace 5), North Putnam 24 (Me. Robinson 4). Fouls -- Southmont16, North Putnam 9. Fouled out -- Martin. Turnovers -- Southmont 35, North Putnam 19.