Reagan See attempts to score from outside for Northmor in their sectional basketball game against host Pleasant on Friday.
Rob Hamilton | Morrow County Sentinel
Northmor would not be able to recover from a tough start in their girls’ basketball sectional contest at Pleasant Friday night in a game they lost by a 56-20 margin.
The Golden Knight season ended with a 7-16 record after a game that saw them fall into a 7-0 hole and not be able to recover. Head coach Freddie Beachy noted that his team struggled with making shots after a long lay-off between the end of the regular season and their tournament contest.
“We had 13 days off and you can only practice so much and they’re just really good,” he said. “That’s why they’re the fourth seed. We’re the 22nd seed and it shows. We missed early bunnies. We had shots, we got a few turnovers. We just don’t put the ball in the basket. In my honest opinion, we have to work on that in the offseason.”
Northmor got their first points of the game on a bucket by Ryann Brinkman with 5:15 to go in the first quarter to make the score 7-2 in favor of the Spartans. Unfortunately for Northmor, they would not score again in that period, allowing Pleasant to ride eight straight points from Whitney Waddell to a 19-2 lead after eight minutes.
Alexis See opened the second quarter with a Northmor basket, but the team would go on another extended drought that allowed their opponents to increase their lead to a 35-4 count before Shelby Cooper buried a three-pointer. Reagan Zeger also scored in the quarter for the Golden Knights, but they faced a 45-9 deficit at the intermission.
Northmor did take a 9-4 advantage in a third quarter played under a running clock, getting three points from Brinkman and two each from Cooper, Reagan See and Claire Tackett, but the Spartans would be able to hold on for the win and end the Golden Knight season.
“The good thing is I have everybody coming back except for one (senior Madison Simpson),” said Beachy. “I told them in the locker room, you gotta want it. There’s not much you can do when they’re making shots and you’re missing. They get down on themselves and it’s hard to get them motivated. I have kids who hustle, but I need everybody. Hopefully, things will be different next year.”
Beachy added that he has the potential for a lot of in-team competition next year, as the Northmor eighth grade squad won a KMAC title this winter.
“If everybody comes back and all those eighth graders go out, then you’re looking at like 27 kids and I don’t care what grade you’re in, if you can play varsity, you’ll play,” he said. “There’s going to be battles and no starting job’s guaranteed. I hope they realize that and put in the time.”
Beachy, whose team was led by Cooper and Brinkman, who both scored five points, said the biggest thing he hopes for is a strong offseason effort by his players — something he noted can be difficult due to Northmor being a small school where many athletes compete in multiple sports.
“We’re small and a lot of these kids play three sports,” he said. “They get pulled in all different directions and it’s hard on them. They need a break and sometimes, unfortunately, it’s basketball where they take a break. That’s the sport I honestly thing you need to work at the most. It’s hard to take a 26.5-inch ball and put it in a 36-inch diameter cylinder. You’ve got to work at it.”
Rob Hamilton can be reached at 419-946-3010, ext. 1807. Connect with him on Twitter at @SportsMCS
