GALION — The Northmor Lady Golden Knights welcomed the Centerburg Lady Trojans to their home gym on the afternoon of Saturday, December 23 to compete in Knox-Morrow Athletic Conference action.
In a game that remained close through the duration, it would be the visitors coming away with the victory as Centerburg edged Northmor; 49-45. With the loss, the Lady Knights drop to 4-6 overall on the season and now sit at 2-4 within the KMAC while Centerburg improved to 5-4 overall and 4-2 within the conference.
The contest and scoring started off quickly as the Trojans grabbed the opening tip and took it down the floor in transition-style to take the early 2-0 lead. In the next 20 or so seconds, both teams would commit turnovers on opposing possessions. Eventually, the two squads would compose themselves and at the end of one, it was the visitors up by just one point; 13-12. Combined, the two teams would score 18 points in the second quarter (Centerburg 11, Northmor 7) to give the Lady Trojans the 24-19 advantage heading into the intermission.
Northmor went into the locker room after an 8/28 shooting performance in the first half which also saw the Lady Golden Knights grabbing 10 rebounds, swiping four steals, dishing out six assists and swatting three blocks with committing 17 turnovers. Addie Farley led the home team in scoring at the break with 11 points.
In the third quarter, both Centerburg and Northmor would have a scoring burst of sorts, with the visitors taking the slight edge, 16-15, to head into the final frame up by six; 40-34. Brooke Bennett shot the first free throws of the game for the Knights in that third quarter to begin the trend of being more aggressive with the ball to draw Centerburg fouls. The fourth quarter was a back-and-forth battle that would lead to the score being tied at 41 points apiece with just 5:25 remaining in the contest. Unfortunately, Northmor was unable to prevail in the game that came down to strategic timeouts and free-throw shots en route to the four-point defeat.
Farley would add an additional five points in the second half to finish as the Lady Knights top scorer with 16 points to go along with three assists, two rebounds and one steal.
Cierra Joiner led the way for the Lady Trojans, scoring 12 by halftime and adding nine more in the third and fourth quarters for a total of 21 points.
Other statistics from Northmor in Saturday’s loss were: Team- 12/33 from inside the arc, 5/19 from the perimeter, 6/12 from the charity stripe, 28 total rebounds, 12 assists, 6 steals, 3 blocks and 22 turnovers; Cristianna Boggs- 9 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 block; Becca Duckworth- 8 points, 3 rebounds; Bennett- 5 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block; Juliana DiTullio- 5 points, 1 rebound, 6 assists, 1 steal, 1 block; Leslie Brubaker- 2 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist and Macy Miracle- 3 rebounds.
Stats for the Centerburg Lady Trojans were: Team- 18/41 from the inside, 1/6 from the outside, 10/22 free throws, 32 total rebounds and 17 turnovers (14 in the first half); Savannah Gammell- 9 points; Sidney Fields- 8 points; Jessica Sutton and Olivia Vance- 4 points apiece and Kristy Vargo- 3 points.
A pair of home games awaits Northmor next as they host the Pleasant Lady Spartans on Thursday, December 28 in non-conference play. The Lady Golden Knights will kick-off 2018 with a KMAC clash against the Highland Lady Fighting Scots on Wednesday, January 3.
