MOUNT VERNON — The Mount Vernon High School girls basketball team picked up its second win in as many games on Tuesday night. Hosting the Columbus South Bulldogs, the Yellow Jackets picked up where they left off on Friday night and blasted the Bulldogs, 56-26.
Mount Vernon (3-4) held Columbus South to single digits in each quarter, while posting double digits itself. The Jackets posted 18 in the first quarter and another 17 in the second. For the game, Mount Vernon was 23-of-59 from the field, while the Bulldogs were 11-of-46. Columbus South also turned the ball over twice as much as the Jackets (26-13).
“We played OK. We could have played a little bit better I think,” said Mount Vernon coach Doug Savage. “Offensively, we shot 40 percent from the field and went 1-of-14 from the three-point line, but I actually think the 3-pointers we were taking were good shots. A lot of time the ball had gone into the post and got kicked back out, and that’s the type of three-point shot we are trying to create for ourselves. We’ve been working hard on paint touches and getting the ball into the paint. We want to see if our post can score with it, but if not, then kick it back and let our perimeter people take a shot. ... I thought we moved the ball well. They played a 2-3 zone most of the night. It was a good workout for us because when I scouted Coshocton, they played a lot of zone as well.”
From the opening tip, it was obvious the Jackets were superior to the Bulldogs. With only eight players on the bench, Columbus South was limited in its options. The starters played nearly the entire game.
Jhazmyn Anderson scored off a fastbreak layup to get the game started for Mount Vernon and it was all downhill from there. The Jackets got six points from Nikki DiGuilio and another three each from Anderson and Sadie Malone to help propel an 18-3 first-quarter run. Ieshia Black hit a 3-pointer in the final minute to make it 18-6 after one quarter.
“It is always nice to start off on the right foot, and knock down some shots early,” said Savage. “We got the big lead early. It is good to put 18 points up in the first quarter like that. It was mostly because of our zone execution in that quarter. We had some fast break opportunities and made some steals. We showed flashes. We need to extend those for longer length of time.”
Black opened the second quarter with a pair of buckets to cut the lead to 18-11 and force a Mount Vernon timeout. The Jackets responded, however, with a 17-2 run, including 13 straight points, to make it a 35-13 lead at the break. Jauni Gleason had five points in the quarter and Caroline Caldwell added four.
It was obvious Savage was trying to help his players improve. The Jackets continued to run their plays with several personnel changes in an effort to gain more experience. While the scoring slowed in the second half — Mount Vernon posted 10 in the third quarter and 11 in the fourth — the learning did not.
“We played halfcourt man-to-man defense, and tried to work on some things. That is our basic defense,” Savage said. “Then we tried to work on our zone offense against their 2-3 zone. We played pretty much a standard game against them. We could have fullcourt pressed them some more and created more opportunities, but there wasn’t a need to do that.”
Black tried to rally her team over a three-minute stretch that spanned the third and fourth quarters, but Mount Vernon went on a 11-4 run to end the game, 56-26.
Anderson and Caldwell scored 11 points apiece to lead the Jackets. DiGuilio had 10 points, five rebounds and three assists; and Paige Wagner and Gleason each added five points apiece. Courtney Burke had three points and a team-high six rebounds.
“This was a game that gave us a chance to get a lot of people in,” said Savage. “All of these kids work hard during practice and pay a price, so it is kind of nice to get a lead like we did, and bring in some of our younger kids. They got quite a few minutes. Being right before Christmas, these kids should be excited about that opportunity. It was a good way to end (this year).”
Black, who went 8-of-34 from the field in the game, scored 19 of Columbus South’s 26 points. Keyvona Waddell added five points and 11 rebounds.
Mount Vernon will have a few days off to celebrate Christmas and then it will be back to the practice court. The Jackets’ next opponent is Coshocton, which they play on Jan. 3.
“We have three days off and then come back on Saturday for a two-hour workout. We’re off Sunday, but then we will come back on Monday and start getting ready for Coshocton, which we play on Jan. 3,” said Savage. “They’ve got a scrappy little team. They play a 2-3 zone a lot like (Columbus South) did. We’ll have four or five days to prepare for Coshocton and see what we can do.”
