Exact opposites was the theme of Franklin’s girls basketball game against Bloomington North on Thursday night.
Opposites in that both teams are heading in different directions so far this season.
After a recent three-game skid, the Grizzly Cubs are now heading in the right direction after easily beating Bloomington North 70-39 in a game Franklin never trailed.
“We were balanced (tonight),” Franklin coach Josh Sabol said. “We had 10 girls score tonight, and that’s something we preach — sharing the ball. We also played great defensively tonight and put together a great game.”
The Cougars, though, have been stuck in a tailspin after starting out the year with four wins. That spin is now a dive following the Cougars seventh straight loss — all of them by 17 or more points.
Until midway through the fourth quarter, when Sabol had his reserves in the game, the Cougars had more turnovers than points. Not exactly a blueprint for victory.
As mentioned by Sabol, credit Franklin’s defense, which forced 35 turnovers — only four short of the Cougars’ scoring tally.
Franklin, whose previous high scoring total was 60, erased that in the third quarter with 62, thanks to a startling 30-point period.
This coming off a pretty good first half for Franklin.
It may have been a cold night outside, but the Cubs sure warmed up fast, nailing five 3-point shots in the first half.
And while the outside game heated up for Franklin, the only area of concern might have been the Cubs’ game inside the paint.
Franklin missed a good half-dozen layups that might have affected the outcome had the contest been closer, but it didn’t matter on this night.
Franklin was led by senior guard Delanie Hill’s 18 points.
Also scoring in double figures for the Cubs were 6-1 senior center Allison Barnard and freshman Hailee Robbins, who came off the bench with some key plays. Each scored 12 points.
The Cougars Nina Castro-Sauer led all scorers with 20 points.
Up next for the Cubs is 11th-ranked Plainfield (11-1) in not only an all-important Mid-State Conference matchup, but another real test to see how far Franklin has progressed at the midway point of the season.
“I feel like we have established a culture and have also worked on building good habits,” Sabol said. “I’m pleased so far, but not satisfied. We still have some work to do.”
Tipoff is set for 1:30 p.m. Saturday.
