PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL: NorthWood overcomes slow start, rallies to beat Concord

Dec. 3—NAPPANEE — It was a first quarter to forget for the NorthWood girls basketball team — and a fourth quarter to remember.

The Panthers did not score in the first period of Thursday's Northern Lakes Conference game against Concord. They didn't actually register any points until there was 5:25 remaining in the second quarter on a made basket from freshman Claire Payne.

NorthWood's defense was stout, though, when their offense was struggling early, keeping them within striking distance of the Minutemen throughout the game. The shots then started falling for the home team in the fourth quarter, as a 17-7 run in the final frame gave the Panthers a 38-33 victory over Concord at The Panther Pit in Nappanee on Thursday night.

"We could've quit, down 7-0 and not scoring," NorthWood coach Mark Heeter said. "The big thing is these kids really haven't quit. ... getting a win in front of a good crowd, it's going to help."

Concord coach Cassie Cepeda was quick to put the loss on herself after the game.

"All me," Cepeda said. "I've got to figure out this group because, right now, we're struggling. We can't figure out how to compete, and that's on me. We can't figure out how to compete for 32 minutes, and I've got to do a better job of putting the pieces together."

The Minutemen led 5-0 at the end of the first quarter after a made 3-point shot from junior Aliyah Hershberger and a '2' from junior Ashlyn Fish. Turnovers hurt NorthWood in the first quarter, as they had seven in the period.

"Unfortunately, what we were doing with the ball is what we've been doing: throwing the ball away, panicking a little bit under pressure, not taking our time," Heeter said. "We've talked about it ... we knew what (Concord) was going to do, and I think our youth and our inexperience really reared it's ugly head there in the first quarter."

Concord built its lead to 7-0 early in the second quarter on a basket from junior Kendal Taylor. The Panthers finally started scoring from that point on, cutting the first half deficit to as little as two before ultimately trailing 14-9 at halftime.

The Minutemen built their biggest lead of the game, 19-11, less than two minutes into the third quarter. A 7-0 run from NorthWood cut the Concord lead to one, though, forcing Cepeda to call a timeout.

Out of the timeout, senior Bailei Mayo drilled a '3' to extend the Minutemen lead to four. NorthWood then countered with yet another run, this a 5-0 one off a basket from Payne and a '3' from sophomore Olivia Oman that gave the Panthers its first lead of the game, 23-22, with 2:01 remaining in the third quarter.

The lead was short-lived, as Concord regained the advantage 12 seconds later on a pair of free throws from sophomore Dominique Stilley. The Minutemen ultimately led 26-24 going into the fourth quarter.

A Payne field goal 70 seconds into the final frame tied the game. Then, less than a minute later, a three-pointer from sophomore Joselyn Edwards put the Panthers ahead 29-26, which was a lead they would hold on to for the rest of the game.

Edwards finished with nine points, including six in the fourth quarter. Her second '3' of the frame was from way beyond the arc, putting NorthWood ahead 35-28 with 2:42 remaining.

"Some of those that Joselyn takes, it makes you go, 'Oh, no — OK, it went in, good shot,'" Heeter said. "Joselyn definitely has that kind of range, and she struggled the first half shooting. I like her mental toughness. She came back and was unafraid to shoot those shots."

Stilley led Concord's offense with nine points, while Mayo finished with eight and Taylor seven. The Minutemen (4-4, 1-1 NLC) are in action next on Saturday when they host LaPorte.

Payne finished with a double-double, scoring 10 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. NorthWood snaps a six-game losing streak with the victory, improving to 2-6 overall and 1-1 in NLC action. The Panthers host Benton Central (7-0) Saturday in what should be a tough test for the young Panthers team.

Austin Hough can be reached at austin.hough@goshennews.com or at 574-538-2360. Follow him on Twitter at @AustinHoughTGN.