Fairmount —
Kokomo’s girls basketball team got off to a flying start against Carroll of Allen County on Monday night, scoring 19 points in the first quarter, then withstood several charges from the visitors to put the game away in the fourth quarter for a 59-47 victory.
It was Kokomo’s highest point total of the season and the win gives the Lady Kats a 10-5 record, surpassing last season’s win total of nine.
“I loved the intensity early, and 19 points in the first quarter, that’s something we haven’t done in a while,” Kokomo coach Jason Snyder said. His team led 19-12 at the first quarter break.
The Wildkats got six points in the first quarter from Brayana Fowler, who put the Kats over the top on Friday night against New Castle with the game-winning free throw. Fowler came up big at the line again on Monday with two freebies with 5:13 left in the fourth quarter early in a 12-0 Wildkat run that turned a 44-42 Carroll lead into a 54-44 Kokomo advantage.
The run started with a bucket from Stephanie Helmer, next, the two Fowler freeibes, then a wing jumper from Bri Poe, a free throw by Anastacia Kirby, three freebies by Kendra Ryker and a curling drive by Fowler to put the lead at 10 with less than three minutes to play.
“After [Helmer’s bucket] we were able to get into our press, which we were having a little trouble getting into in the second and third quarters,” Snyder said. “That was a turning point there in the fourth quarter. And then we were able to hold on and make good stops down the stretch.”
Kirby led the Kats with 14 points, Fowler finished with a dozen, and Alanis Jones and Ryker each scored 10. Poe added six.
“I was really excited about the fact that we had four girls in double figures, shared the ball well, and got really nice looks,” Snyder said. “They do a great job of pressuring, putting bodies on you. It was a concern of ours how we could handle their physical pressure. [Against] Richmond and Carmel, that’s something we really struggled with. I thought we did a much better job of handling that [Monday].”
Kirby in particular flourished in the paint. She snagged a game-high 14 rebounds, leading the Kats to a 40-30 rebounding advantage. The All-Area player had seven offensive rebounds alone, to go with three steals, two blocks, and two assists.
“She was able to play more aggressive because of the style of play that they had,” Snyder said of Kirby. “Any time you have seven offensive rebounds — they’re blocking her out, they’re big, they’re strong, and she fought through that — that takes a lot of heart. Fourteen points, 14 rebounds is an outstanding game, one of the best games she’s played in her career.”
Her play embodied the grit the Wildkat squad showed on the defensive end with its disruptive, trapping pressure, and under the basket as they went up against a Charger squad featuring two six-foot post players.
“I just thought Kokomo did a very good job of staying within their game, put on very good pressure, took advantage of their steals and converted,” Carroll coach Mark Redding said. “We had opportunities — loose balls and things we just didn’t get to. I thought their hustle plays were also a difference. That gave them momentum, particularly when we had the lead. They were able to convert on their steals and we didn’t.
Kokomo forced Carroll into 25 turnovers and outscored the Chargers 22-17 in points off turnovers.
Sports
Kokomo girls pick up 10th win
Lady Kats turn back visiting Chargers
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Comets wear crown
In a softball game that was every bit the pitchers’ duel many were expecting, Tipton senior stud Shelby Hursh and Eastern junior ace Abby Oyler went head-to-head for nine innings in Friday’s Class 2A Eastern Sectional final.
When the smallest of doors cracked open late in extra innings, it was the Comets who were able to sneak through. -
Northwestern takes down West Lafayette
Northwestern played a very solid game on both offense and defense in defeating West Lafayette 8-5 in the opening round of the IHSAA Class 3A Peru Baseball Sectional Thursday night.
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10 area athletes advance to boys track state finals
Austin Roark’s first season as the head boys track and field coach at Eastern High School just keeps getting better and better.
A week after guiding the Comets to their first sectional title since 1998, Roark will join six of his athletes at next weekend’s IHSAA state finals after advancing out of Thursday’s Kokomo Regional at Walter Cross Field. -
Eastern dominates Taylor in softball
GREENTOWN — The third time turned out not to be the charm for the Taylor softball squad as Eastern improved to 3-0 on the season over its backyard rival Wednesday night, ousting the Titans from the Class 2A Eastern Sectional 15-0 in five innings.
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Barnes sets Taylor's career hits record
Taylor baseball standout Logan Barnes made his final game at George Phares Field one to remember.
Barnes pitched four solid innings to lead Taylor past Monroe Central 9-3 Tuesday. In addition, he went 2 for 3 at the plate, pushing his career hits total to a school-record 142. -
Kats drop heartbreaker
When the postseason arrives, emotions surge like a roller-coaster. One minute, it’s a long uphill, then a wild series of events offer a barrage of frights and thrills. And then, for one team, the ride ends and there aren’t any more tickets for another go around.
After two days of chills and thrills, Kokomo’s softball team ran out of tickets Tuesday night in the Class 4A Harrison Sectional. The Kats dropped a 4-3 decision to Harrison in eight innings, giving up a run in the top of the extra frame, and having a runner tagged out at home in the bottom of the frame.
“It was a great game,” Harrison coach Dick Mitchell said. “It’s always nerve-wracking to coach in one of them, but both teams played their hearts out. Nobody deserved to lose that game, but unfortunately somebody does.” -
Comets turn heads at track regional
Heading into Tuesday’s IHSAA girls track and field regional at Fort Wayne Northrop High School’s Spuller Stadium, event workers alike weren’t sure of Eastern High School’s location.
After the dust settled, they may feel compelled to get a map out and find out where Greentown is located.
Led by seniors Sarah Wagner, Brittany Neeley and Bethany Neeley, the Comets qualified for the state finals in six separate events to finish fourth as a team with 55.5 points, behind host and champion Northrop (78), Bellmont (68) and Carroll (Allen) 66. -
GASKINS: Hibbert’s block was thing of beauty
For the better part of the NBA season, ESPN devoted all kinds of time on SportsCenter episodes to replays of two dunks. Anyone who watches any ESPN at all surely knows the two to which I’m referring: 6-foot-11 DeAndre Jordan of the Los Angeles Clippers posterizing 6-3 Brandon Knight of the Detroit Pistons, and 6-8 LeBron James of the Miami Heat hammering home a dunk over 6-2 Jason Terry of the Boston Celtics.
Day after day, ESPN commentators lavished endless praise, which quickly grew tiresome. The dunks were strong, but Jordan and James were much taller and heavier than Knight and Terry and the dunkers also caught perfect alley-oop passes with the defenders in poor positions to defend. Still, ESPN commentators loved these plays.
I kept wondering if a great defensive play would receive the same kind of love. -
Coons, Walker, Glassburn reach Victory Lane
When the dust settled Sunday evening at the Kokomo Speedway, a pair of drivers who have visited Victory Lane in the past at the local oval found themselves there once again while a talented up-and-comer hit the hallowed ground for the first time.
Jerry Coons Jr. had his way in the sprint car feature and Craig Walker seemed to get faster as the laps wound down to win the Street Stock main event, however Kokomo High School sophomore Kory Glassburn had to scratch and fight before scoring the first feature win of his career in the Thunder Car A-main. -
Field is set for Indianapolis 500
After being bumped from the starting field while sitting on the qualifying line on pole day, Josef Newgarden turned the fastest time on bump day, assuring himself a spot in the Indianapolis 500.
The field of 33 cars will have one final opportunity to practice on Friday before next Sunday’s 97th running of the 500.
One year ago the Sarah Fisher Racing Team withdrew Newgarden’s entry on the first day of qualifying and had to qualify on bump day. This year the team decided not to make another qualifying run and got bumped. - More Sports Headlines
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