Western Boone Jr. - Sr. High School

Western Boone had the momentum in the fourth quarter on Tuesday night against North Putnam. The Lady Stars (3-7) started the quarter on an 8-0 run, taking a 50-47 lead with 5:45 remaining in the game. But then, they hit a wall, and the visiting Cougars (9-4) capitalized. North Putnam closed the game on a 13-3 run and came away with a 60-55 victory over Western Boone. "We got the lead there and I think we just got complacent and couldn't handle having a lead," Western Boone head coach Hannah Kelly said. "I think sometimes when we get in that position where we get ahead, we don't know how to keep that lead. I think we just kind of got flustered and let it slip." On the other side of the court, it was a strong fourth-quarter display from North Putnam. After falling behind, the Cougars scored on six of their next nine possessions, building an eight-point lead. "We kept our composure pretty well, and did a good job of slowing down, spreading the floor and finishing at the rim," North Putnam head coach Kelly Windmiller said. Coming into the game, Windmiller wasn't sure exactly what she was going to get from her team. Because of the weather, the Cougars hadn't practiced since last Thursday. "I really didn't know what to expect," she said. "The positive we put on it was, 'well, you girls are good and rested.' We just wanted to go out and leave it all the court and that's exactly what they did." freestar One area that was extremely effective for the Cougars was their work on the offensive glass. The Cougars had 21 offensive rebounds - half their misses - and out-rebounded the Stars 42-35 in the game. The offensive rebounds led to 15 second-chance points. "Going into halftime, I felt like we were getting beat rebounding offensively, and that was one thing we said - if we were going to win this game, we had to rebound," Windmiller said. "We came out in the second half and did a much better job and that was a huge factor." The Stars trailed by two at the quarter, but came back to take a 33-30 lead at halftime. But the Cougars tied the game with a 3-pointer from Hailee Daigle right out of the half, and started the third quarter on an 11-0 run to go up by eight. The Stars inched their way back into the game, getting within five heading to the fourth before their spurt to take the lead. "One thing about our girls, we really don't quit," Kelly said. "I think it's something with this group especially this year, this group wants to win. I think that even when we're down, it's not something where we give up and we are going to stick with it the whole time. We had some girls really spark that tonight." Ally Lewis had 17 points and five rebounds for the Stars, with Emmerson Gott chipping in 16 and five. Isabell Grady had seven points and 13 rebounds. Melanie Davis had 22 to lead North Putnam. Daigle had 14, with Jenna Day having eight. The 22 points matched Davis' season high. "She showed a lot of growth tonight," Windmiller said. "There's been games where she has struggled to finish around the rim, but she kept her composure against some taller, physical girls." Western Boone will host Southmont on Friday in a rematch of the Sugar Creek Classic semifinal that Southmont won 58-30. "We have both have had a handful of games since then and Southmont is having a great season," Kelly said. "For us, it's a chance for us to play them the way we know we could have the last time. It's a big conference game, so we want to head into Christmas break strong." Will Willems is the Sports Editor of the Lebanon Reporter. Follow him on Twitter @Will_Willems.