Defense leads to big second half for Lady Mountaineers in win

Published 8:00 pm Tuesday, January 10, 2017

VARNELL — After a sluggish first half, the North Murray High School girls basketball team used its defense to spark its scoring against Coahulla Creek on Tuesday night. The Lady Mountaineers forced 17 turnovers and allowed just nine points in the second half on the way to a 52-23 win.

North Murray (11-5, 5-1 Region 6-3A) led 20-14 at halftime as the Lady Mountaineers struggled to knock down shots.

“We had some good looks in the first half, but sometimes they go in and sometimes they don’t,” North Murray coach Keith Robinette said. “We did a better job of taking advantage of those in the second half, but the biggest thing was our defense. That led to some stuff in transition and some easy buckets. For us, it has to start defensively.”

The Lady Colts (3-13, 1-6) got off to a good start with a bucket by Rachel Walker and a 3-pointer by Allie Young, who finished with a team-high 12 points, and the teams were tied at seven after one quarter.

Coahulla Creek took an early lead in the second quarter with another basket by Young, after which the Lady Mountaineers went on a 7-0 run keyed by a Kailee Tipton 3-pointer. The Lady Colts came back to tie the game at 14 before North Murray closed the half on a 6-0 run.

Two quick baskets by Young and Walker cut the North Murray lead to just two to start the third quarter, but the Lady Mountaineers tightened up on defense and didn’t allow another point in the period. Meanwhile, Sarah Plemons took charge of the game for North Murray as she scored 15 of her game-high 19 points after halftime.

“We have multiple leaders on the team, but I feel like the girls look to me to get the energy up,” Plemons said. “Our shots weren’t falling so I tried to drive it in the paint some more and on defense I try to be aggressive to get us going.”

Plemmons scored six straight points late in the third quarter to stretch the Lady Mountaineers lead out to 19 points at the end of the period. She also finished with four rebounds, four assists and five steals.

“That’s just a ball player being a ball player,” Robinette said of his point guard’s assertiveness in the second half. “That stuff is not coached, it’s just something she’s developed over time. It’s the understanding of this is what I have so I will take it. I was glad to see her knock down some outside shots tonight too.”

Coahulla Creek coach Jody Bacchus was proud of how his team started the game, but said the Lady Colts need to do a better job of handling pressure.

“(North Murray) had a fire lit under them at halftime and they pressured us more and got after us defensively and we didn’t handle it well,” Bacchus said. “We are super young. Those moments will come. We are trying to put our girls in a position to be successful and teach them to play through those moments and not let one play affect the next one.”