CALEDONIA — North Union won its opener over the weekend, blowing out Cardington 68-44. The Wildcats showed they can win a tight one, too, edging River Valley 53-46 on Nov. 25 at RV.
“I’m really proud of our team and the way we battled,” North Union girls basketball coach Mitchell Loomis said. “You’ve got to give River Valley credit. They played really hard. They were confusing defensively. We didn’t get consecutive possessions of anything. It turned out to be a good basketball game, and I’m happy we came out on top.”
It looked like North Union might romp again. Down 5-2 midway through the first quarter, the Wildcats went on a 6-0 run inside a minute and eventually led 14-9 after the first quarter. NU built the lead to eight points early in the second quarter, but RV responded to take a 29-22 lead late in the first half.
“I thought in the first half there were times where they were playing harder than us.,” Loomis said. “You hate to admit that. Simple things like rebounding on free throws, we gave up two of them and it ended up being six points. They’d rebound it, throw it out and they would make a 3. In close games that can’t happen.”
River Valley led 29-25 at halftime and still was on top for much of the third quarter until NU went on a 6-0 run to end the period with a 36-35 lead. North Union never trailed in the fourth quarter, but the game was never outside of two possessions until the final seconds. In fact, RV had a chance to tie it when down 49-46 with less than a minute left, but a turnover doomed their chances.
“After opening the way we opened, it was a lot better feeling tonight leaving,” RV coach Tim Chiles said, referencing the 56-23 loss at Marysville to start the season. “We talked about with as much as we’ve got returning we’ve got to be better at finishing. We’re making too many mental mistakes on the floor and not getting in the right position and allowing the other team to dictate some things that we want to dictate ourselves.”
North Union was just 1-for-13 from the arc, but shot 46 percent inside it, also making 12 of 17 free throws. Kennedy Harrah and Kailin McElroy both ended with 13 points for NU, while Gabby Lindsey chipped in with 12 points. The Wildcats committed 17 turnovers.
For River Valley, it was 6 of 16 shooting from 3-point range for 38 percent, but it also shot 29 percent on 2-pointers. The Vikings were also just 8 of 17 from the foul line. Freshman Gracie Beechum came off the bench to lead them with 15 points. Layla Auld added 11 points, and Megan Clausing and Ava Roseberry both had nine points. RV committed 21 turnovers.
“They’re good. They return a lot, too,” Chiles said of the Wildcats. “It’s not like we went up against somebody who is bad and didn’t play well. We played well but just not good enough. We’ve got to keep battling and find a way to score a few more points. We have too many lulls where we turn the ball over and don’t score.”
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This article originally appeared on Marion Star: North Union, River Valley battle to the end in girls basketball
Reporting by Rob McCurdy, Marion Star / Marion Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
