Golden Arrows dominate second half over Cougars

ROACHDALE - The Sullivan Golden Arrows, who had 20 points from Avery Wiltermood, blew open Friday night’s game at North Putnam, going on an 18-0 run between the first and second quarters. They would go on to cruise to a 66-23 victory in girls WIC’ action.

After a very tight opening stretch of the game, North Putnam was in the lead after a three pointer from Kyndal Brewer at 7-4. Sullivan finally started to get in gear. Jacie Wilson brought the visitors within one and Wiltermood drained a three to give the Arrows back the lead, one they would never relinquish.

Jacy Huffman hit a pair of foul shots to notch the game up one last time as the Cougar were fighting hard. The Arrows though were just gearing up for their run, though. They scored the final six of the opening quarter to stretch out to a 15-9 lead at the break.

As North was struggling on the offensive end, Sullivan exploded on their offensive end, taking advantage of turnovers and getting points in transition. Next thing you know, they were up 27-9 after the 18-0 run.

“Their speed doesn’t show up on film as it is in person. They did a phenomenal job of getting into passing lanes and getting some runouts. Our inexperience showed tonight,” said Cougar coach Craig Franklin.

Sullivan would continue the trend throughout the rest of the period, outscoring North 27-11. Wiltermood was scoring both in transition and from the outside. The size and strength of the Arrow post players also caused a problem for the Cougars.

The second half did not get any better as Sullivan tightened the vise defensively, suffocating the Cougar offense. North could get nothing to fall in the third period, going 0-11 from the floor. The Arrows continued to stretch out the advantage. Late in the third they reached the 35-point plateau which kicked in the running clock rule.

The Cougars would add a three pointer in the final period from Samie Hoops, but Sullivan was just too much as it went on to pick up the 66-23 road victory.

“We are a young team. I kept telling them in the huddle to keep attacking and keep working. In the long run this will be a good game for us. We can go to the film, see what we need to work on,” added coach Franklin.

North Putnam falls to 7-4 on the season and 3-2 in the Western Indiana Conference. Hoops led the way with seven points as six different players scored. Sullivan moves to 7-4 and also 3-2 in the conference. Wiltermood finished with 20 points and Lexis Drake came off the bench to grab seven rebounds.

Team Stats

Individual Stats

Scoring - (N) Hoops 7, Brewer 5, Davies 4, Daigle 3, Huffman 2, Haste 2; (S) Wiltermood 20, Wilson 12, Kelley 9, Drake 7, Williams 4, McKinney 4, Grindstaff 4, Harris 2

Rebounding - (N) Daigle 3, Osburn 3, Brewer 2, Huffman 2, 5 with 1; (S) Drake 7, Williams 6, Wilson 5, Grindstaff 5, Kelley 4, Wiltermood 3, 2 with 2