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Northview sweeps pair of WIC games from Eagles
BRAZIL -- Northview was in dire need of streak-breaking basketball victories in Wednesday’s make up contests against the South Putnam Eagles. Both Northview squads snapped three-game losing streaks as the girls and boys teams were winners against the visiting Eagles.
The Northview girls got 23 points and 16 rebounds from Jenny Lundy in a 47-41 victory and celebrated senior night for Olivia Lundy as well as Sonja Nelson. The boys used a 14-point edge in the second quarter to ground the Eagles in a 54-38 decision.
“We have worked extremely hard and I know that our hard work doesn’t always show up on the scoreboard, but I am pretty proud of our effort,” Northview coach Michael Byrum said.
The girls' contest was essentially a battle to see which team was going to represent the Western Indiana Conference Western Division in the crossover game on Friday evening.
With the victory, Northview will travel to Indian Creek to take on the 11-9 Braves for third-place overall in the WIC. South Putnam finished in third place in the WIC West and will play Friday night at either Cascade or Cloverdale for fifth place.
Jenny Lundy was the go-to player for Northview from the opening tip as South Putnam struggled to contain the six-foot forward. While Lundy’s post game is her strength, she made the Eagles' job of defending her even more difficult as she went 3-for-3 from 3-point range in the opening period. She would score 12 of Northview’s 16 points in the quarter and grabbed five boards.
The Eagles got off to a solid shooting start as well, as senior Lillie Stein scored seven of her 11 points in the quarter as South Putnam was within 16-12 at the first stop.
Jenny Lundy went to work in the post during the second quarter and stayed active on the glass with eight more boards. Rebounding proved key in the contest. Northview held a 40-28 overall edge on the glass. With Jenny Lundy adding six more points and Olivia Lundy adding four more points, the Knights were able to take a 28-20 lead at intermission.
The game stayed close into the fourth quarter as each Northview run was met by the Eagles.
Miranda Bieghler hit a pair of free throws for the Eagles prior to a bucket by Mikayla Sparks for the Knights. A free throw by Aubrey Hill was met by a hoop by Olivia Lundy that put the Knights on top 32-25 after three periods.
The Knights extended their lead to as much as eight points twice in the fourth quarter as Sparks hit two free throws for a 37-29 lead. Sophia Buell would later add a free throw and made a steal which led to a transition lay-up. Jenny Lundy’s single free throw pushed the gap to 43-35.
South Putnam had a late rally in store as Stein scored off an offensive rebound and Caitlin Capps followed with a jumper to narrow the Eagles’ deficit to 43-39.
However, the Knights bore down and got back to the free throw line.
Jenny Lundy and Addy Thompson each had two free throws in the final minute to put the game out of reach as Northview went to the line 23 times in the final period, hitting 13.
In the boys' game, Northview’s defense and frigid shooting by the Eagles led to the victory by the Knights.
Northview had an 11-8 lead after the first eight minutes as Cade Bryan paced the Knights with six points.
The second quarter proved devastating for the Eagles, as their hoop was closed for business.
Northview held the Eagles to just 3-of-16 shooting overall as leading scorer Allen Plunkett missed all six of his field goal attempts.
The Knights started knocking down their perimeter attempts as Brigham Booe drained 3-of-4 shots from beyond the arc. Carson Gettle added another and freshman Caleb Swearingen hit a pair as Northview outscored the Eagles 20-6 in the period for a 31-14 lead at intermission.
“It was huge,” Byrum said of opening some second-quarter breathing room. “Anytime we play defense the way we did tonight it will create opportunities offensively.”
Byrum credited the defensive energy against Plunkett for the Knights’ halftime margin.
“I think we did a very good job of keeping someone within arm's reach of (Allen) Plunkett,” Byrum said. “He is their leading scorer. I think we kind of frustrated him at times. Even though we were giving up the jumpers, we were still contesting them. We were able to keep them off the glass and basically kept them at one and one.”
The Eagles worked on scratching into the Knights’ lead in the third period by getting to the rim rather than settling for jumpers.
Austin Arnold and Dru Teipen each scored and a pair of free throws by Thomas Fanning got the Eagles within 37-20. Plunkett, who had been held to just two points in the first half, found more success in getting to the rim. The 6-5 junior hit a free throw and added floater from five feet to get the Eagles within 39-23. The Knights fired right back as Gavin Morris hit a free throw and got the rebound of his own miss. He fed Gettle for an open 3-pointer and a 43-23 Northview lead.
Plunkett opened the final period with a successful drive on his way to 11 points, but a score by Bryan off an offensive board and a Booe 3-pointer pushed the Knights’ lead back to 22 points.
Booe was the leading scorer with 19 points and nine rebounds while Bryan added 10 points and eight boards. The Eagles were led by Plunkett’s 11 points and seven rebounds. Wes Lesko had six boards.
Boys game
SOUTH PUTNAM (38) -- Fanning 1-3 2-2 4, Plunkett 4-18 3-6 11, Arnold 4-9 0-0 8, Watson 1-3 1-2 4, Lesko 1-4 3-7 5, Teipen 1-1 0-0 2, Vansickle 1-1 0-0 2, Heavin 1-2 0-1 2, Blaydes 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 14-43 9-18 38.
NORTHVIEW (54) -- Swearingen 2-8 1-2 7, Booe 7-17 0-0 19, Osborn 0-1 1-2 1, Bryan 5-13 0-0 10, Combs 2-5 1-2 5, Gettle 3-9 0-0 9, Nussel 0-3 0-0 0, Shelton 0-1 0-1 0, Morris 0-1 3-4 3, Howald 0-0 0-0 0, Griffin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 18-58 6-11 54.
South Putnam 8 6 10 14 - 38
Northview 11 20 12 11 - 54
3-point field goals - Nv 9-29 (Gettle 3-7, Booe 4-10, Swearingen 2-6, Bryan 0-1, Osborn 0-1, Shelton 0-1, Nussel 0-3), SP 1-16 (Watson 1-1, Plunkett 0-10, Fanning 0-2, Arnold 0-2, Heavin 0-1). Total Rebounds - Nv 40 (Booe 9, Bryan 8), SP 33 (Plunkett 7, Lesko 6). Total Fouls - Nv 19, SP 11. Fouled out - Nv (Combs). Turnovers - Nv 10, SP 15.
Girls game
SOUTH PUTNAM (41) -- Bieghler 3-15 3-5 10, Bratcher 1-2 0-0 2, Vanihel 0-5 1-2 1, Capps 4-6 2-3 10, Stein 5-13 0-0 11, Nichols 0-0 0-0 0, Custis 2-4 0-0 5, Hill 0-2 2-4 2. Totals 15-47 FG, 8-14 FT, 41 TP
NORTHVIEW (47) -- Buell 1-1 2-6 4, Nelson 0-0 1-2 1, Thompson 1-2 2-6 4, O. Lundy 4-5 0-0 8, J. Lundy 6-20 8-10 23, Sparks 1-8 5-9 7, Barger 0-2 0-0 0, Combs 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 13-38 FG, 18-33 FT, 47 TP
Northview 16 12 4 15 - 47
South Putnam 12 8 5 16 - 41
3-point field goals - Nv 3-7 (J. Lundy 3-4, Sparks 0-2, Barger 0-1), SP 3-15 (Custis 1-1, Bieghler 1-7, Stein 1-3, Vanihel 0-3, Bratcher 0-1). Total Rebounds- Nv 40 (J. Lundy 16, O. Lundy 7, Sparks 5), SP 28 (Stein 6, Capps 5). Total fouls - Nv 14, SP 22. Turnovers - Nv 19, SP 17.