COSBY – The North Greene girls brought their defense to Cosby on Thursday night and shut down the Lady Eagles in the second half on the way to earning a 54-34 win.
Tight man-to-man defense highlighted by Loren Blevins and Kaydence Marshall on the perimeter made it hard to for Cosby to find shots as the Lady Eagles were held to just 12 points in the second half.
“I could not be more proud of how we defended them, especially in the second half,” North Greene coach James Buchanan said. “These girls took the game plan from the film room and the practice floor and they brought it to Cosby. We held their two best players to single digits, and they have some phenomenal players. They say defense travels, and we brought it tonight. I’m so proud of the effort and the results.”
The night started with North Greene scoring the first eight points. Good ball rotation led to Marshall and Mercy Buchanan knocking down three-pointers.
After the Lady Eagles missed their first seven field goals Shylee Shelton hit from behind the arc for Cosby. Defense led to offense for North Greene with Marshall setting up Blevins for a breakaway layup before a steal by Mercy Buchanan led to a pair of free throws. North Greene finished the first period leading 14-6.
“This is probably the best game I’ve seen Mercy play,” coach Buchanan said. “She was good defensively, and she scrapped around and got several rebounds. She knocked down a couple of shots and got to the free-throw line. We’ve been begging her to shoot when she’s open, and to get 13 on the road is enormous.”
Cosby scored the first four points to start the second quarter to close the gap to 14-10, but the Lady Huskies answered by holding them scoreless for the next four minutes.
Blevins got North Greene going with a corner three and Hannah Miller capped an 8-0 run with a layup for a 22-10 lead.
North Greene’s lead reached 29-22 when Miller found Ella Head on a backdoor cut, but at the buzzer Maddy Miller tapped a shot off the glass to narrow the margin to 29-22.
The third quarter started slow paced, but as time wore on Hannah Miller began to take over the paint and Cosby was held scoreless for the final 5:38 of the third quarter.
On the offensive end Head sank a transition layup through contact and turned it into three points. Buchanan knocked down a three-pointer and Miller scored at the horn for a 45-26 Lady Huskies’ lead.
In the fourth quarter Blevins hit a pair of three pointers and Buchanan took a steal the other way as North Greene finished with a 54-34 win.
Buchanan and Blevins each scored 13 points for North Greene. Head had 11 points, Marshall scored nine while Miller had eight points and 12 rebounds.
The Lady Huskies will see Cosby at home later in the regular season, and the Lady Eagles are always a threat to make a run into the Region 1-1A Tournament. Buchanan is hopeful that Thursday’s outcome on the road can give his team some confidence ahead of a potential postseason meeting.
“I think we took a step forward tonight,” Buchanan said. “We know we can beat this team, but I hope we’ve seen enough film to know we can be beat. We have to keep getting better. It’s good to know we had a good game plan tonight, but we certainly don’t have anything in the bag.”
