By THE TRIBUNE SPORTS STAFF
November 17, 2007 12:46 am
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Class 2A, No. 2 ranked Oak Hill and its 6-foot-4 center Ashley Pickering were just too good for the Kokomo Lady Wildkats Friday night at the Huntington North Invitational. Oak Hill withstood a Wildkat rally in the fourth quarter and claimed a 75-67 victory.
The sophomore Pickering hit 13 of 15 shots from the floor and added eight free throws for a career-high 34 points as the Golden Eagles improved to 2-0.
Kokomo (1-1) struggled through three quarters and trailed 51-33 heading into the final period.
“We got better as the game went on,” coach Jason Snyder said. “We sped up the game in the fourth quarter and we cut the lead to five points in the final minute. I was proud of the girls, they showed a lot of heart.”
Snyder said Oak Hill is worthy of its high ranking.
“They had great guard play and Pickering (seven rebounds and three steals) finished very well around the basket. That’s just a really strong team. It was a good test for us early in the season. It’s definitely a game we’ll learn from.”
Kokomo bright spots came from a 33-23 advantage on the boards, led by Aelleon Woodard’s nine boards and that the Kats forced 27 turnovers. Kokomo was in foul trouble much of the night and as a result, Oak Hill shot 39 free throws.
Kayla Drake led Kokomo with 19 points and Shakeeta Cotton scored 13. Woodard and Kelly Hopkins each scored 10 points before fouling out.
Kokomo returns to Huntington today to play Arlington.
Eastern 48, Clinton Central 30
Eastern’s defense kept Clinton Central from scoring in double figures in three of four quarters. The Comets (2-1) meanwhile kept a steady flow of offense throughout the game.
“We played extremely well defensively,” Eastern coach Mike Springer said of his 2-1 Comets. “I felt our starting guards of Kaitlyn Smith, Kayleigh Lindsay and Lydsi Pence did a great job defensively. They played a very unselfish game which enabled Amanda Dean, Chelsea Wilson and Rachel Bray to score from the inside. The defense ignited the offense.”
Wilson led Eastern with 16 points, Bray added 14.
Kelsey Neal led Clinton Central with 11 points.
Eastern hosts Taylor next Saturday.
Northwestern 59, Southwood 45
Northwestern (3-0) started out slowly with a 13-11 lead at the end of the first quarter, but the Tigers kicked into gear by going on an 18-5 run in the second quarter for a 31-16 lead at halftime. The Tigers didn’t allow Southwood to get any closer.
“It was a little bit of a slow start for us,” Northwestern coach Todd Miller said. “You have to give Southwood (1-1) credit though. In the second quarter, we changed our defense, and Sarah Lubben took over for us defensively. She had five steals, and that played out big in the quarter. We also had really good balance with eight players scoring.”
Natalie Appelhans led Northwestern with 13 points and six rebounds. Becki Lowden added 12 points and Lindsey Sewell 10.
Northwestern travels to Western on Tuesday.
Western 56, Peru 29
The Panthers (2-2, 1-0 in the Mid-Indiana Conference) started off on the right foot in league play.
Peru (1-3, 0-1) was no match for Western as the Panthers slowly built a lead by scoring in double digits in each quarter. The Panthers led 12-7 at the end of the first quarter, and 25-8 at halftime.
Brooke Lewis led Western with 16 points and Heather Power added 10. Western also out rebounded Peru 38-24 with four Panthers grabbing six boards apiece.
“We had balanced scoring, and we got to play a lot of girls,” Western coach Steve Hoppes said. “Everyone got a lot of minutes, and that helped us. It was also great to get our foot in the door with a conference win.”
Maconaquah 62, Northfield 42
The Braves remained undefeated at 3-0 with the 20-point win over the Norse (0-4).
Maconaquah started out slowly with a two point lead at the end of the first quarter but turned it up a notch in the second quarter to go up 23-15 at halftime. The Braves took control from there.
Deja Mattox led Maconaquah with 20 points. Kenzie Kampf added 13, and Kayla George 12.
Maconaquah will put its unbeaten streak on the line Tuesday, hosting Fort Wayne Wayne.
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