MONMOUTH — The shooting touch was as cold as the temperatures outside Saturday.
Though the Monmouth Academy girls’ basketball team struggled from the floor in the early minutes, the Mustangs started to warm up enough in a 49-16 win over Mt. Abram.
“It was a little bit of a struggle to put the ball in the basket,” Monmouth coach Scott Wing said. “We tossed up a few bad ones, but most of the shots were good looks that we’d take all the time.”
The Mustangs shot 5-for-17 in the first quarter and 5-for-22 in the second. Wing even sent his team back onto the court early at halftime to get a few shots up before the second half.
“It’s probably a result of not playing a regular game for 16 days,” Wing said. “We also haven’t practice for three days. I’m hoping that’s the reason.”
Despite the Mustang’s struggles from the floor, Mt. Abram (1-7) wasn’t able to keep pace. The Roadrunners struggled offensively as well, shooting 2-for-7 in the first and 1-for-7 in the second.
“We gave them probably four shots to our one shot,” Mt. Abram coach Mark Simpson said. “You’re never going to win if they’re getting that many. We were either not rebounding on a good defensive stand or by turnovers, just giving it right back to them.”
The Roadrunners were limited with the number of shots because they were plagued by turnovers. Mt. Abram had nearly 20 in the first half.
“We’re trying to stay positive and trying to stay up beat,” Simpson said. “We’re young. We had three freshmen starting today and we only have two seniors, but we’re very inexperienced also.”
Kylie Kemp led the Mustangs (5-2) with 14 points while Jenna Davies added 11. Sidney Wilson finished with nine and Ashley Coulombe added six. Mt. Abram was led by Alex Harnden with six.
Despite missing some early shots, the Mustangs found scoring by other means. Monmouth forced some steals that turned into fast break points while the Mustangs also did a nice job on the boards and getting second chances.
Tied 4-4 late in the first, Monmouth finished the quarter with a 6-0 run to take a 10-4 lead. Kemp scored through the lane and Wilson followed with a basket on a steal. Kemp then turned another turnover into points.
Monmouth started the second quarter with another 6-0 run. Davies scored on a rebound. Amanda Anair converted a steal and Kemp scored to make it 16-4. Mt. Abram got its lone basket of the quarter from Sally Stevens midway through. Monmouth finished the half with five straight for a 21-6 lead.
After a free throw by Paxton Lessard, Coulombe scored on a steal and Kemp finished off an inbounds pass.
In the third, Monmouth’s outside shooting began to fall. The Mustangs got a 3 from Wilson and jumpers from Coulombe, Davies and Kemp. Mt. Abram got a basket by Harnden and free throws from Olivia Ryan, but Monmouth broke the game wide open with 15 straight to finish the quarter up 41-10.
“Once you get a lead, everybody relaxes,” Wing said.
Alora Ross, Marya Beedy and Shania Campbell all scored for the Roadrunners in the fourth, but Monmouth maintained the lead getting baskets by Davies and Maddie Stevens.
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