By John Regruth
For the Daily Journal
SEYMOUR
Franklin’s girls basketball team started slowly, but recovered impressively on Thursday night.
Down 8-0 three minutes into their contest with Seymour and trailing 11-6 with less than two minutes to play in the first quarter, the visiting Grizzly Cubs rebounded with a 25-3 run over the final nine minutes of the first half and pulled away to comfortable 58-39 victory.
“We called a timeout and made some adjustments,” Franklin head coach Josh Sabol said. “We told the girls, ‘We’ve just got to play our game. Everything else will take care of itself.’ Our players don’t get too high and they don’t get too low. If we just play our game, everything will be fine.”
That message got through. After starting the game 2 of 15 from the 3-point line, the Cubs made 11 of their next 25 long-distance shots over the final three quarters.
Scarlett Kimbrell led Class 4A No. 7 Franklin (16-1), knocking down seven 3s and scoring a game-high 21 points.
“She can shoot lights out,” Sabol said of Kimbrell. “She’s a big-time player. We’re really excited about her. She’s been big for us all season.”
Lauren Klem followed with four 3-pointers and ended with 12 points. Megan Thompson added 11 points, while Erica Buening finished with nine.
Seymour (8-9) started quickly, hitting its first three shots from the field and a pair of free throws to take its early 8-0 lead.
Klem ended the scoring drought with a 3-pointer with 4:20 left in the first period. With Seymour holding a five-point advantage with 1:23 to go in the first quarter, Franklin started its game-changing run over the remainder of the first half.
Buening and Thompson provided the spark for the Cubs, scoring a combined 16 points and pulling down nine rebounds collectively in the first half.
In the second half, Kimbrell heated up, sinking five of six 3-point attempts. Her 3s in the third quarter ended brief 4-0 and 6-0 runs by Seymour.
In the fourth quarter, Kimbrell’s consecutive 3-pointers stretched Franklin’s lead to 56-30 with 4:46 left and sealed the victory.
Kimbrell and Thompson each grabbed a game-high seven rebounds. Kuryn Brunson finished with a game-high six assists.
Thursday’s win was the Cubs’ fifth straight since suffering their only loss to Zionsville a month ago. The final 19-point spread gives Franklin its 13th double-digit victory of the season.
The Grizzly Cubs’ next game is on Saturday at Mid-State Conference rival Whiteland.
