Antonette Dorsey looks to make a pass as Blythe Wesney defends.
Photo by Ron Nunnari
Ashley Jones puts up a shot inside the paint against Centerville.
Photo by Ron Nunnari
Cory Mangen puts up a 3-point attempt in the second half.
Photo by Ron Nunnari
Jenna Hoschouer goes up for a shot against the Lady Elks.
Photo by Ron Nunnari
Denissa Sly prepares to dish a pass outside after finding nowhere to go on an inside scoring attempt.
Photo by Ron Nunnari
CLAYTON — Northmont’s girls basketball rematch with Centerville was a direct contrast to the first meeting between the two teams on January 13, a 56-27 victory by the Lady Elks.
Wednesday night the game between the two Central Division rivals turned out to be a defensive battle.
The two schools scored a grand total of 15 points in the first half with Centerville leading 12-3 at halftime. Northmont didn’t score a single point in the first quarter while limiting Centerville to five.
“We cut down on our turnovers and played a great defensive game until the shot went up. We gave up 13 second chance points and we lost by 13,” said Northmont Coach Bethany Kincer.
The Lady Bolts got plenty of good looks in the first half, but the gremlins dancing on the rim rejected almost all of Northmont’s shots. Centerville struggled as well. That trend continued in the third quarter. The Lady Elks scored nine points and the Lady Bolts five, three on a trey by Ashley Jones, but Centerville held a comfortable 21-9 lead entering the final eight minutes of play.
Shalaya Heath got a basket, Denissa Sly three buckets and Erin Mangen buried a 3-pointer and came up with a steal to score a layup in the fourth quarter but it wasn’t enough as Centerville went on to post a 35-22 victory.
“The defensive effort we gave was phenomenal and we played well until we shot the ball,” Kincer added. “We got good shots in the first half but we couldn’t get the ball to fall. It was a struggle. Centerville always comes out playing a great defensive game and I think we played a great defensive game. We just missed some box outs and our shots didn’t fall. We definitely have to get some things going on offense in the next couple of games.”
The Lady Bolts close out regular season play Saturday at Springfield at 7:30 p.m. Northmont will face Fairmont in the first round of the sectional tournament on Saturday, February 13 at 12:30 p.m. at Troy High School. The Lady Bolts defeated Fairmont twice in regular season play 41-40 at home on December 19 and 34-31 on the road on January 23.
CEN 05 12 21 35 – 35
NMT 00 03 09 22 – 22
Centerville: Victoria Harrison 2, Alexis Hutchinson 2, Kasey Perry 2, Weston Minnich 4, Jasmine Broner 8, Blythe Wesney 3, Sam Chable 2, Lizzie Steiner 2, Logane Brazile 8, Meghan Montgomery 2. Totals: 13-7-35.
Northmont: Cory Mangen 2, Ashley Jones 3, Erin Mangen 8, Denissa Sly 6, Shalaya Heath 2, Alexia Payne 1. Totals: 9-1-22.
3-point goals: Centerville 2 (Minnich, Wesney); Northmont 3 (E. Mangen 2, Jones).
Records: Centerville 15-6 (7-2), Northmont 9-11 (3-6).
Reach Ron Nunnari at 684-9124, via email Rnunnari@civitasmedia.com or on Twitter @Englewood_Ind
