Second quarter dooms Cougars

Thursday, December 4, 2014
Senior Kayla Clodfelter drives in for an easy layup. (Banner Graphic/JOHNATHON GOODE)

SPENCER--North Putnam tried making it two in a row Thursday night against the Owen Valley Patriots. The girls' basketball team won Tuesday against Riverton Parke, but it have failed to win consecutive games since 2012 when they won three. That streak continues as they lost, 53-31.

Only three minutes separate what could have been a close game. The Cougars (1-6) were on a comeback, after being down 12-6 they scored two straight buckets. Down by two with three minutes left in the first half, the Patriots (1-5) went on a 16-0 run going through the first possession of the second half to take a 29-13 lead.

"We played really well for 14 minutes," Cougar coach Jim Spencer said. "About two minutes to go in the first half with the score being 12-10 we took a couple bad shots, gave up some offensive rebounds and mishandled the press."

Part of the Owen Valley run was spurted by the 16 offensive rebounds they had for that time and 18 overall. Kara Schafer missed eight shots but seven of them were rebounded by her own teammate and five were put back through the net.

"We just couldn't work our way back into it," Spencer said. "We just don't have the fire power for that kind of comeback. We played really well for the first 14 minutes, then just two bad minutes got us in a position we couldn't recover from."

Sophomore Emilee Henninger of North Putnam took advantage of her opportunities. She scored 13 points, all in the second half, and had three assists and five rebounds. She assisted junior Taylor Nauert on the first two plays of the game to give the Cougars their only lead at 4-0.

"Everybody did a good job in the second half," Spencer said. "Emilee did a good job getting on the board for us and attacking the rim. We just got ourselves too far behind to get ourselves back in the game. We tried, but we just couldn't get some things to go our way tonight."

Other than those three crucial first half minutes, the Cougars paced right with the Patriots. They won the third quarter and most of the Patriot scoring in the fourth came with the Cougar reserves in.

North Putnam will host its third game of the season Tuesday against the Tri-West Bruins. It will be another tough match for the Cougars against a 4-1 team.

At Owen Valley

North Putnam 6 7 10 8 -- 31

Owen Valley 11 16 9 17 -- 53

North Putnam: Emily Henninger 13, Taylor Nauert 10, Kayla Clodfelter 5, Madison Smith 3

Owen Valley: Zaine Bucy 19, Gilstrap 8, Query 8, Truax 4, Mitchell 4, Cattorini 4, Wesley 2, Schafer 2, Day 2

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