Franklin’s Lauren Klem defends a Seymour player during Thursday night’s game.
Dylan A. Wallace | For the Daily Journal
It was the defense of the Franklin girls basketball team that allowed the Grizzly Cubs to run away from Seymour inside Lloyd E. Scott Gymnasium on Thursday night, 60-37.
The Cubs allowed the Owls to score just seven points in the first quarter and four in the second to take a 31-11 lead into halftime.
“I thought they were really good,” head coach Mike Armstrong said of his team’s defense. “Obviously, (Kendall) Sterling and (Brooke) Trinkle are really good (for Seymour) and really good shooters. We wanted to make sure we were up on them, and then we were just going to wall up against the big girls and make them make shots. I thought we did as good as we’ve done in terms of helping situations. I thought our effort defensively was really good.”
It was a slow scoring first quarter for both teams. Franklin only led 14-7 at the end of one but really took off in the second quarter.
The Cubs turned their defense into offense and got out in transition for easy baskets. They also started to have shots go down, as Lauren Klem and Erica Buening both hit from the perimeter.
“We wanted to play at a quick pace,” Armstrong said. “We hit some shots. Buening hit a 3 that went straight up into the air and in, and she gets an and-one later on. (Scarlett) Kimbrell hit some shots, and then (Brooklyn) York has just been really solid. She back cuts and gets layups.”
Franklin took a 47-22 lead into the fourth quarter and had no issue keeping the Owls at a comfortable distance for the remainder of the contest.
York led the Grizzly Cubs in scoring with 15 points. She was one of three players in double figures for Franklin, as Buening had 12 points off the bench and Klem scored 10.
Kyndell Jochim had eight and Kimbrell both had eight points, Emily Fuqua had four, Emma Sappenfield had two and Sophie Rinehold had two.
The victory boosted the Cubs’ record to 13-5 this season, and they are now winners of three straight.
Franklin will head to Whiteland on Saturday afternoon before closing out its regular season next week with a Tuesday home game against Martinsville and a road game at Jennings County on Thursday.
Armstrong wants to see his team continue to play at a quick pace like they did against the Owls, as well as maintain that defensive tenacity.
“We still want to work on playing faster and run the court harder and get more transition baskets,” he said. “Defensively, we want to continue to work on defending the post because we’re not a very big team. Right now, it’s about playing good, playing your best ball and working on the little things that can make a big difference in these games down the stretch.”
