MOUNT VERNON – As Mount Vernon girls basketball coach Doug Savage listed off the attributes of the Yellow Jackets’ Tuesday, Jan. 5 opponent New Albany, he couldn’t find a whole lot of deficiency.
The Eagles did just about everything in a 60-22 win at Mount Vernon in non-league play.
“They’re strong, physical, quick, can shoot, they’re big, they defend, they handle,” Savage said. “I think that might be the best team we’ve played this year.”
The Jackets held the lead through much of the first quarter as the teams felt each other out. But a Katie Kaucheck 3-pointer at the 1:47 mark gave the Eagles (4-0) their first lead at 6-5, and they never trailed again.
“Overall, I thought our depth worked really well tonight,” New Albany coach Phil Sikorski said. “We didn’t finish well, but … defensively, you give up 22 points, you can’t complain.”
New Albany led 10-6 at the end of the first quarter and scored the first 12 points of the second quarter. The Eagles led 24-10 at the break and pushed the lead to 43-17 through three quarters.
All Savage could do was encourage his players.
“I know the scoring was lopsided in favor of New Albany,” he said. “I wanted them to just keep competing and do their best. For the most part, we were able to do that.”
The Eagles had 22 steals on defense and forced 31 Yellow Jacket turnovers.
Haley Dennis had 19 points, eight rebounds, two assists and a couple of steals to lead New Albany.
“She’s tremendous,” Sikorski said. “She’s dealing with a knee injury; she had knee surgery last spring and it didn’t heal right. She’s actually going in next Friday for a season-ending scope. She’s committed to Otterbein and is probably one of the fasted kids with the ball I’ve ever coached.”
Injuries have been a theme with the Eagles this season.
“We’re trying to work back my starting point guard Brooklyn Gammon, who’s coming off of mono,” Sikorski said. “We’re trying to get her back and get her wind in her.”
Riley McNabb has been battling a back injury and was held to one point and one rebound in limited action. Gammon scored four points and dished out three assists off the bench.
Lauren Wood had 10 points, five steals and a pair of rebounds; and Kaucheck added eight points, four steals, three assists and two rebounds for the Eagles, who didn’t play their first game until Dec. 19.
Olivia Reddy had eight points and a pair of steals to lead the Jackets (3-5). McKenna Brokaw was held to one point but had a team-high three rebounds and added a blocked shot. Naveah Williams came off the bench and scored three points and added three boards.
“We just couldn’t get a look,” Savage said. “We had no open shots, hardly. They were all pressured and making (us) do everything faster than what (we’re) capable of doing, which leads to a lot of turnovers. We couldn’t really get any inside game going, and the 3s that we did take were rushed.”
