North girls wrap up regular season with 68-34 loss at Covington

0

COVINGTON — Tri-County North’s girls basketball had four days off before facing Covington in the regular season finale on Thursday, Feb. 8.

Even with the time off to get some rest, the Panthers couldn’t keep pace with the Buccs, falling 68-34.

“We took a little bit of time off for some team bonding,” North coach Jessica Spitler said. “Unfortunately, we had a snow day and it canceled our practice (the day before). So we went four days without practice. Our legs should have been rested, but we were definitely out of the groove.”

The game was tight early as Tri-County North’s Aubrey Stupp scored eight of her 12 points in the first quarter to keep the Panthers within striking distance at 18-13 with about two minutes left in the frame. But back-to-back baskets by the home team made it 22-13.

Tri-County North’s Megan Poling hit a trey and followed with a runner to close the gap to 22-18 in the first minute of the second quarter, but that would be the final points of the first half for the Panthers

Covington closed out the half on a 10-0 run.

“We just kind of fell apart,” Spitler said. “We weren’t shooting well.”

The Buccs put the game away in the third with a 20-11 scoring advantage in the frame.

“Everybody got to play. That was our positive for the night,” Spitler said.

With the loss, North finished the regular season 9-13, which is the best record for the program in nearly a decade, according to Spitler.

“The program is on a high right now,” she said. “We’ve won more games this year than we had the last three years combined. It’s definitely on the upside.”

North, the No. 7 seed, is scheduled to play No. 4 seed Troy Christian on Saturday, Feb.17, at Brookville High School in the Division IV sectional at 2 p.m.

(Editor’s note: Information from the Piqua Daily Call was used in this story)

By Eddie Mowen Jr.

[email protected]

Reach Eddie Mowen Jr. at 937-683-4056 or on Twitter @emowen_RH

No posts to display