MOUNT VERNON — The Mount Vernon girls basketball team was pushed around on its home court Friday.
The Yellow Jackets managed just four first-half points as they fell hard to New Albany, 45-16.
As a team, the Jackets hit just three field goals in the entire game. Mount Vernon (1-12, 1-7 OCC) ended the night at 12 percent (3-for-25) from the field.
That’s actually an improvement from the last time the two teams played. On Dec. 3, the team went 10 percent (3-for-29).
Mount Vernon had a size advantage going in. Alex Miglin and Jordan Peppers are bigger than any player on New Albany’s team. But both were neutralized by foul trouble early on. Without the advantage in the post, the Yellow Jackets were no longer a threat inside, and the Eagles could focus on the perimeter.
“Our game plan was to pound the ball inside,” Mount Vernon head coach Joe Rucker said. “So that kind of put us behind the eight ball a little bit. But that shouldn’t have slowed us down to where we scored just four points in the first half. Give a lot of credit to New Albany. They got after the ball.”
The Jackets had trouble with the ball as well. They were outmatched by New Albany’s speedy guards. Madi Miller and Hanah Scipio each had five steals, while Chrissy Harris and Cheyenne Hartley-Carr each had four.
“We wanted to keep the ball out of (Scipio’s) hands,” Rucker said. “She’s a speedy guard. She’s only a sophomore. But we didn’t execute the way I’d like.”
When they weren’t stealing the ball, the Eagles (8-4, 6-2 OCC) were pressing the Jackets at half-court, forcing mistakes.
