Central Oregonian

Cougars claw Cowgirls

Mountain View uses solid defense to overpower Crook County 49-29

LON AUSTIN/ CENTRAL OREGONIAN

Jena Ovens goes to the hoop during the Cowgirls’ game against the Mountain View Cougars on Friday. Ovens scored 10 points in the contest as the Cougars won 49-29.

Lon Austin

February 11, 2013

The Mountain View Cougars played solid defense all night as they overpowered the Crook County Cowgirls 49-29 in Friday night Intermountain Hybrid girls basketball action.

“Our bench doesn’t go as deep as Mountain View’s,” said Crook County head coach Dave Johnson following the game. “But I think that a lot of it for us is just being able to execute correctly and being able to do the things that we work on every day in practice.”

The Cowgirls jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the contest and still led 10-9 late in the first quarter.

The Cougars scored the final five points of the period to take a 14-10 lead. Crook County responded early with a three-point play early in the second quarter to close to within a point at 14-13. However, that was as close as they would come for the remainder of the contest. Mountain View upped their defensive pressure and held Crook County to just two points in the next six minutes as they opened up a 22-15 lead at the half.

The Cougars continued to pressure the Cowgirls in the third quarter, forcing several turnovers, which led to easy baskets. By the end of the period, Mountain View held a 34-20 lead and was in complete control of the ballgame.

The Cougars continued to extend their lead in the fourth quarter, despite terrible shooting from the foul line. Mountain View missed eight consecutive free throws in the period, and finished the game just 11-33 from the line.

The Cougars also shot poorly from the floor in the contest, hitting just 18-48 shots (37 percent). However, the poor shooting didn’t matter as the Cougars were able to force 34 Crook County turnovers on the night. In addition, they used their size and strength to force Crook County into difficult shots as the Cowgirls were able to hit just nine of 41 shots from the floor (22 percent).

“We made a lot of silly mistakes and mental errors,” Johnson said. “And Mountain View is the kind of team that will take advantage of that.”

Kimmer Severance led the Cowgirls with 11 points in the contest, while Jena Ovens was also in double-figures with 10. The duo also led the Cowgirls in rebounding with 17 and seven rebounds respectively.

Megan McCadden led a balanced Mountain View attack with 14 points, while Emma Platner added 11, and Rhiannon Alexander chipped in with 10.

With the win, the Cougars raised their record to 14-5, while the Cowgirls dropped to 9-10.

Friday, Feb. 8

Mountain View 49, Crook County 29

at Crook County

Mountain View (49) — Megan McCadden 14, Platner 11, Alexander 10, Waldrup 6, Reeves 4, Bailey 3, Johnson 1, Farnsworth, Warren, Cant, McCarthy. Totals 18 11-33 49.

Crook County (29) — Kimmer Severance 11, Ovens 10, Wood 5, Lindburg 2, Malott 1, Apperson, Benton, Smith. Totals 9 10-15 29.

Mountain View 14 8 12 15 — 49

Crook County 10 5 5 9 — 29

Three-point goals — Mountain View: Platner, Bailey; Crook County: Ovens.