ALLEN — Council Grove might have figured out a way to stop Northern Heights’ Amy Lee. For Lee’s sake, hopefully the Braves’ methods won’t be found on any future scouting reports.
Lee had 14 points by halftime on Friday night, and she had missed only three shots and made 4-of-5 free throws. Then in the third quarter she returned to the court wearing No. 45 — instead of her usual No. 10 — and she had a Band-Aid on one of her fingers.
“I got a little blood on my other jersey,” Lee said.
How so?
“She accidentally bit on my finger.”
Ouch.
Before the jersey change, Lee and the Ladycats were feeling pretty good and looked like themselves again in a 67-46 bounce-back win.
They needed a strong effort after struggling on Tuesday in a 55-44 loss to Herington, a team they had beaten twice earlier this season and expected to beat a third time.
“We had a lot of distractions,” NHHS coach Tim Riemann said. “We had some team issues and I don’t think we were ready to play. We were a little overconfident and they kind of snuck up on us and they played real well and we were pretty flat.”
The Ladycats (15-3) bounced back immediately in the first quarter on Friday, coming out with energy and playing the uptempo game they thrive in. They forced eight turnovers in the first quarter with their fullcourt press, and pulled out to a big lead thanks to some hot shooting.
They made 10-of-14 shots and led 22-8 at the end of the first quarter. Lee and Sarah Boline both scored seven points in the opening quarter, and both led Heights on the night with 19 points apiece.
“We knew that our attitude in the Herington game didn’t help us,” Lee said, “so we had to change that and come out strong.”
Heights continued to push the tempo and run away with the game in the second quarter and ended on a 17-4 run to take a 41-15 lead into halftime. Lee started the run with a 3-pointer, and Christena Zumbrum also had a 3-pointer with the Lady Braves trying to clog the paint and slow NHHS senior post Andrea Miller, who scored six points and had seven rebounds.
“They were running a 2-3 so it was hard to get any shots from the inside,” Miller said, “but our guards were doing a good job of hitting their shots on the outside.”
The Ladycats’ shots quit falling in the third quarter — they made 2-of-10 — and they also committed eight turnovers. But the Lady Braves didn’t shoot much better and even with a buzzer-beater from Danielle Siegle, the Braves trailed 49-28 entering the fourth quarter.
“It’s tough at halftime to come out and keep them motivated,” Riemann said. “Give Council Grove some credit. They came out real well in the fourth quarter and forced us into a lot of turnovers and we didn’t handle their pressure real well.”
Heights took better care of the ball in the fourth quarter and got to the free throw line to put the game away, making 14-of-27 at the line. Lee also found her shooting stroke again after the finger mishap and added five more points at the line.
The Ladycats should be back to full strength sometime next week when Amy Boline, who missed both games this week, is expected to return from injury. Lee and Amy’s sister Sarah helped fill the void on Friday and with two games left before substate — against Olpe and Osage City — the Ladycats should be poised to not suffer any more letdowns.
“I think that game (against Herington) refocused us for this one,” Riemann said, “and hopefully we’re back on track now and ready to get going.”
Northern Heights girls 67, Council Grove 46
Council Grove 8 7 13 18 — 46
Northern Heights 22 19 8 18 — 67
Council Grove — Miller 13, Blim 6, Switzer 5, Siegle 6, Bowen 5, McDiffett 9, Irons 2.
Northern Heights (15-3) — Hobson 8, Linsey 2, Lee 19, Miller 6, Zumbrum 6, Boline 19, Baird 6, Smith 1.
Fouled out — D. Miller, Blim, Siegle.