Northwestern girls basketball holds on for nonleague win over Mapleton
NANKIN — Caydence Scale finished what she started Tuesday night.
The Northwestern sophomore sank six free throws in the fourth quarter to quell a Mapleton comeback to lead the Huskies to a 44-37 nonconference win at Mapleton High School.
Scale finished with a game-high 18 points, including 10 in the first quarter. Her back-to-back 3-pointers staked Northwestern (6-8) to a 19-8 lead.
“She’s another one who kind of makes me pull my hair out sometimes, but she is just a sophomore and is very talented,” Northwestern coach Brian Kiper said of Scale, who added seven rebounds and four steals. “I thought she came out and played under control to start the game, and the thing about her is we want the ball in her hands. Sometimes she wants to try and make everybody happy and try to thread the needle to somebody and try and get them a layup when it’s not there.
"... She’s very explosive and can take it, and obviously she shot it well to start the game, but probably the most important thing and the one I’m most proud of is the way she knocked down free throws to seal the win.”
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Faced with an 11-point deficit heading into the second quarter, Mapleton (11-5) climbed back into the game by playing strong in the middle quarters to trail 25-19 at the half and 33-30 at the end of the third quarter.
“The girls' efforts after that first quarter were what we would like to have,” Mapleton coach Daryl Young said. “We’re struggling to get out of the gate, and it happened again tonight, but the girls fought hard to dig back and gave ourselves plenty of opportunities.
"And I think, statistically, we’ll probably find when I go through the film we probably led them in most categories.”
Mapleton won the rebounding battle (39-33) but was also guilty of 23 turnovers to 17 for NW. The Mounties shot 10 of 15 at the free-throw line to 12 of 20 for the Huskies, and Mapleton took 10 more shots from the floor (12 of 50) than NW (14 of 40).
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Five turnovers in the fourth quarter hurt Mapleton, and the Mounties netted just 1 of 13 floor shots despite getting a number of good looks.
“Not all of them were contested,” Young said. “We had some good looks out of the offenses and the out-of-bounds plays,” Young said. “It was there, and I feel bad for the girls. We didn’t get the win tonight, and I was frustrated a little bit as a coach that I didn’t have them better ready somehow.”
McKay shines for NW; several Mounties play strong
Northwestern senior Kara McKay was playing banged up during the game, but she still posted 13 points and seven rebounds while playing strong defensively.
“Kara actually has a deep bone bruise on her hip,” Kiper said. “She suffered it a couple of games ago and is trying to play through it. We tried to get her some breaks because we don’t want her to sit too long and have it stiffen up.
“... She’s very active. She’s very aggressive, and she really fought through that, but she’s a senior. This is her last go-round. She’s a team leader, and I thought that was important for us.”
Josie Wright (seven points, three steals) also played well for NW, as did Shayna Allshouse (four points, five rebounds) and Mariah Thompson (two points).
Mapleton got solid performances from a host of players, both offensively and defensively.
Sara Hickey (15 points, five steals), Heidi Earl (10 points, six rebounds, two steals), Bri McKean (four points, 10 rebounds), Bailey Davis (four points, seven rebounds), Holly Earl (two points, four rebounds, two steals) and Maggie Hellickson (two points) all played a part in the Mounties' comeback.
“I’m absolutely thrilled with the heart and determination of this team, and they step up when I challenge them in the huddle,” Young said. “... We certainly have reasons to smile other than the final score.”
This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: Northwestern quells Mapleton comeback with clutch shooting
