Cougars come up short against Vikings

WEST TERRE HAUTE - The North Putnam Cougars girls’ basketball team was close with just over two minutes remaining, but with clutch free throw shooting from the host West Vigo Vikings, it would fall short 51-44 in WIC play Friday night.

A very balanced first quarter played out as the teams figured each other out. The Vikings would keep a slim margin throughout. Big three pointers from Rose Haste and Addi Osburn would keep it within striking distance at 10-8 through one period.

The Cougars were really struggling to find their offensive flow in the second quarter. A lone field goal from Jacy Huffman and a free throw each from Kyndal Brewer and Lexi Daigle was all the offense could muster.

The Vikings had their own struggles, though, shooting just 4-of-13 for the period and edged out to just an eight-point advantage 20-12.

North came out firing in the second half. Samie Hoops drained a three right off the bat to set the tone. Huffman added a three and when Daigle nailed one of her own, the Cougars took their only lead of the night at 24-23.

West Vigo would close out the quarter with a nice run of its own at 16-6, including making six shots in a row, to take a 39-30 lead into the final quarter.

The Cougars went right to work to start the final period. The lead was down to four again after a big three from Daigle and free throws from Brewer and Haste. With just 2:11 left in the game, Brewer found some space inside to make it a two-point game.

North just could not get over the hump down the stretch. The shots just would not fall as it became a free throw contest and the Viking took advantage, knocking down 7-of-8 in the last 1:25 to put away the victory 51-44.

“I take blame for the poor shooting early. I didn’t have us in the right sets offensively against their defense. The kids just kept fighting. In the second half we made the right adjustments and made a run at them,” Cougar coach Craig Franklin said.

“We are getting better. I can see the improvement. Really proud of how hard we play.” added coach Franklin.

The Cougars drop to 7-9 on the season as they get ready for the home stretch. Next Friday will be a match up with a Greencastle team that is playing really well followed by a Saturday afternoon meeting with Western Boone.

Daigle led the way with 10 points, while Brewer added nine and Hoops had eight points. Haste led the team on the glass with seven rebounds.

Team Stats

Individual Stats

Scoring — (NP) L. Daigle 10, Brewer 9, Hoops 8, Haste 5, Huffman 5, Osburn 3, Davies 2; (WV) Fennell 18, Marrs 15, Knopp 9, Stepp 7, Ramirez 2

Rebounding — (NP) Haste 7, Hoops 5, Huffman 4, Brewer 2, L. Daigle 2, two with one; (WV) Fennell 6, Ramirez 5, Marrs 3, Stepp 2, Knopp 2