NEW MARKET — Defense was the name of the game in both games of the Western Boone - Southmont basketball doubleheader at Bob Tandy Gym on the Southmont campus Friday night.
Sagamore Conference, Sugar Creek Classic and sometimes sectional foes squared off and neither team gave an inch defensively which prompted the two low-scoring affairs.
In the girls game, the Stars denied the Mounties enough looks at the basket by forcing some turnovers, and then got to the line more than South in a 37-30 win.
The boys game was a slug-fest from the start, as both teams defended like they were guarding Christmas candy.
Every shot was contested, every pass challenged, more than a few elbows found their mark. The fourth quarter saw a six-minute scoreless streak.
The Mounties made enough buckets to keep the lead, and kept the Stars from scoring much, in a 36-28 win.
Stars best girls down the stretch
A look at the stat sheet shows WeBo with 10 more made free throws, which would indicate how they won by seven, as they move to 8-3 overall and 2-1 in the Sagamore, while the Mounties fall to 6-8 for the season and 0-3 in the league.
That plus-10 was one factor, but there were others that saw the Stars get the win, their second over South this season as they won the Sugar Creek Classic title over the Mounties.
“We’re a quick team, and we sometimes try to force the action with that quickness and it becomes a turnover,” South coach Dan Burkmam said. “It was a problem we have seen this season - too many turnovers. “We’re getting better, but we push the ball and lose it.”
The Stars forced 23 South turnovers into 16 points, and held a 49-27 rebound margin, which, with the extra free throws, spelled the difference.
“Our defensive average is right at 36/37 points,” Burkman noted. “The problem is getting more than 30 scored.”
That shooting issue was highly due to the Stars pestering the Mounties and not allowing many easy or open looks.
Trailing 17-8 at halftime, South scored 12 of the next 15 points to tie things up at 20 with 1:33 left in the third quarter, but the home squad wouldn’t score again for nearly six minutes, and by that time, they were down 11 points.
“We executed the game plan early,” Burkman said. “We got (Emmy) Roys in foul trouble, and we were driving the ball. We got looks, but couldn’t score.
South also had a foul problem of their own, as Chelsea Veatch and Chloe Jenkins both got bench time with quick foul trouble.
Having to foul late, South put the Stars on the line, and they scored their last seven from the stripe.
DeLorean Mason led the way for South, as the junior finished with 15 points. She also had seven steals that led to several breakaway buckets, and had a steal.
Olivia Gray added seven points and a team-best seven rebounds.
For the game, the Mounties were 11-of-38 from the field, 3-of-12 from long range and 5-of-12 from the line.
The Stars got a pair of 12-point scorers to lead their way.
Carlie Pennington’s dozen was topped off with 10 rebounds for her double-double, while Katheryn Rutherford had 12 points and eight boards. Roys also had eight off the glass.
WeBo was 10-of-45 from the field, 2-of-5 from deep, and 15-of-21 from the line. They had 24 turnovers that the Mounties turned into 17 points.
The Mounties head into the holiday break after the game.
“We are going to come in and work on a few things, and after Tuesday, take some days off. We’ll come back ready to go again. This is a hard-working, always-learning team.”
WESTERN BOONE 37, SOUTHMONT 30
Score by Quarters
WeBo 9 8 8 12 - 37
South 6 2 12 10 - 30
Western Boone (8-3, 2-1)
FG-FGA FT-FTA Pts: Stokes 1-8 0-0 2, Pennington 3-9 6-7 12, Rutherford 3-12 6-8 12, Koch 0-3 3-4 3, Roys 1-6 0-2 2, Jones 2-6 0-0 6, Terwiske 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 10-45 15-21 37.
South (6-8, 0-3)
Gray 2-8 3-4 7, Veatch 2-5 0-0 5, Shaw 0-1 1-3 1, Mason 6-16 1-3 15, Jenkins 1-2 0-0 2, Woods 0-3 0-0 0, Douglas 0-2 0-2 0, K.Hall 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 11-38 5-12 30.
3-Pt Shooting
WeBo 2-5 (Jones 2-3, Stokes 0-1, Koch 0-1); South 3-12 (Veatch 1-3, Mason 2-9).
Rebounds
WeBo 49 (Pennington 10, Rutherford 8, Roys 8); South 27 (Gray 7, Jenkins 6).
Turnovers
WeBo 24; South 23
Pts off TOs
WeBo 16; South 17.