Greensburg- It was just the second home game for the Lady Chargers, but the first game in the newly remodeled Cook Court at North Decatur High School. The Lady Chargers christened the new floor by beating sectional rival South Ripley 55-37. At times it wasn’t pretty for both teams. Turnovers and defensive breakdowns made it more difficult to establish a rhythm. However, North found a way to overcome those challenges and pulled away, outscoring the Lady Raiders in every quarter.
Offensively, the Charger attack came from both inside the paint and outside on the perimeter. Against the South Ripley zone defense, it took good ball movement and active post-play to find the open looks. Ella Kunz and Madi Allen got things going in the first period. Kunz was fouled and made her attempt for the old-fashioned three-point play. She ended with 5 total in the 1st. Allen drove into the middle scoring from 15 feet and stepped out beyond the arc to drill a three-pointer. Sophomore Clare Kinker chipped in 4 points after the defense collapsed inside to cover up Kunz. Madelyn Bohman was active throughout the night on the boards and had a put-back score to go up 17-11. Off the bench in the second quarter, Kacey Barker connected on a triple, and Allen/Kunz continued to work inside and out. At the half, North led 27-19.
In the second half, North extended their lead. Kinker connected just inside the arc and Kunz finished two nice post moves to grab 4 points in the 3rd. Kelsey Haley attacked the basket for a bucket, while Madelyn Bohman cleaned up on the weakside rebound for the putback. ND led 39-26 after 3 quarters. It was much of the same story in the final period, as North Decatur took a balanced attack to the finish line. As South Ripley returned to their man-to-man defense, North found more success with their offense, closing the game with an 18-point victory.
The Lady Charger record now stands at 6-4 on the season. South Ripley falls to 4-4 on the campaign. North is on the road on Thursday night at Oldenburg Academy. JV tip is at 6 PM.
Scoring Tonight
Allen 18 points
Kunz 15
Kinker 8
Haley 5
Bohman 4
Barker 3
Ally Whitaker 2
FT: ND 5/9, SR 6/17
Submitted by the school’s athletic department.