Brock Netter, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
SOUTH WEBSTER — North Adams has played just three games this early in the season. But the Green Devils have already learned some tough lessons.
What comes with those lessons is growth, and they took a step in the right direction on Thursday.
Through a hot start, a cold second half and a physical battle, North Adams managed to end the night’s contest with a 16-4 run, sealing a tough-nosed 55-44 victory at South Webster.
“We’re not a deep team at all, and we battled through some late adversity and foul trouble for a tough, physical win,” North Adams coach Rob Davis said. “There were times where our mental toughness was lacking and the game got away from us. But we collected ourselves. We had a lot of girls step up with some big plays, key rebounds and big steals. We still have a lot to work on, but I’m proud we got the win.”
CREDIT: Erica Fike/SOSA
Twice this season in tight games, the Devils (2-1) have faced a fork in the road. They took the wrong detour once, holding a late lead before suffering a narrow loss to Peebles.
This time around, despite panicking at moments and showing frustration in others, they figured it out and turned turnovers into points to finish strong.
“We did the same thing against Peebles, and we couldn’t bring ourselves back out of the hole. It’s all mental for us and we get down on ourselves too many times,” North Adams’ Tatum Grooms said. “It’s tough to keep calm in those moments, and we definitely had a couple moments tonight. But we managed to stay together and figure it out this time.”
North Adams couldn’t have asked for a better start. Kenlie Jones and Harlee Brand connected on back-to-back 3’s, pacing an 8-0 run to start the game — a lead that later ballooned to 16-0 following a 4-for-4 start from beyond the 3-point arc.
SW’s Addi Claxon buried a triple to get the Jeeps (2-1) on the board, and then connected again to spark a quarter-ending 8-2 run, cutting the deficit to 18-8.
“When you jump out to that big of a lead, you’re playing with a lot of confidence. But the game doesn’t stop, you have to keep playing,” Davis said. “South Webster is a physical team and they used that to their advantage as the game continued. We stopped attacking because we were shooting the ball so well, and that allowed them to slowly chip away.”
PHOTOS: Images from North Adams’ win over South Webster
Though North Adams cooled down quite a bit in the second quarter, South Webster wasn’t heating up, either. Time continued to wind down as empty possessions were traded, though the Green Devils continued to maintain a double-digit lead.
However, NA committed mental errors and took some rushed shots in the final seconds. That led to Skylar Zimmerman burying a triple before the buzzer to cut NA’s lead to 26-18 at halftime.
“The clock was on our side and we took a bad shot with 10 seconds left, gave up the rebound, didn’t hustle back on defense and gave up an open shot,” Davis said. “Our girls were tired, but that also comes down to mental toughness and they assumed they were going to miss the shot. I was pretty fired up at halftime and my assistants even told me they hadn’t seen me that fired up since they played for me years ago.”
The Jeeps later trimmed the lead to 28-22 in the third, but North Adams found some footing by scoring nine of the next 14 points, including a bucket from Tatum Grooms for a 37-27 score.
Continuing to fight, buckets from Bella Claxon and Alivia Hanes cut the deficit to 37-31 heading into the fourth.
South Webster began to attack the paint and used the free throw line to gain momentum. It did more than that, though. Bella Claxon connected on four free throws as part of a 9-2 run to open the fourth, giving the Jeeps their first lead at 40-39.
However, that advantage only lasted a couple of possessions before a triple from Jones and a bucket from Grooms gave NA back the lead before the Deviles sealed a win at the free throw line.
“Those free throws are key components to winning games in the end. We had our struggles, but it’s all repetition,” Jones said. “We do a lot of shooting drills in practice and when it comes to the game we’re giving each other chances for shots whether we’re hitting or not. We’ve all played with each other for a while, so we trust one another.”
Jones finished the night with a game-high 26 points, while Brand finished with 14 points, six rebounds and four assists. Grooms added 10 points and five rebounds.
For South Webster, Zimmerman finished with 14 points, while Bella Claxon added 13 points and eight rebounds. Addi Claxon ended the night with 12 points.
North Adams returns to action on Monday at home against West, while South Webster is home that same evening hosting Notre Dame.
SPONSORED BY WILLEY & SON TRUCKING
