ARCANUM – It was an old-fashion, grind-it-out, back-yard brawl between visiting Franklin Monroe and Arcanum in girls basketball.
Like any good brawl, it’s usually not pretty and style points don’t count; the only thing that matters is the last man standing. After each team countered one another, it was FM left standing and just happy to survive for a 43-30 win over Arcanum.
Franklin Monroe took the first quarter 9-7 with all five starters scoring. Arcanum got 6 points from Gracie Garno to keep close.
Kennedy Morris bombed a long shot to start the second quarter to put the Jets up 12-7, and a few minutes later an and-one from Corina Conley increased the FM lead to 16-9 at the 4:16 mark.
Conley, however, picked up her third foul, and moments later so did Audrey Cable as the two Jets took a seat.
Morris stepped forward and scored 4 more points and a total of 9 in the first half to give the Jets a 20-11 lead at the break.
“All year long Kennedy Morris hasn’t needed to step up and be a scorer for us, and I know she’s capable. She did that for us in the first half when we had foul trouble, and hopefully this will give her confidence knowing that she can do it and be that next scorer for us,” Franklin Monroe coach Abbey Moore said.
Arcanum coach Matt Grote could only wonder “what if” at the break for his team had ample layup opportunities and good open shots, everything a coach could hope for … but the Trojans must felt like there was a shield over the basket, scoring just 4 points in the second quarter.
“We left way too many points on the floor, a lot of missed layups and short shots,” Grote said.
Conley picked up her fourth foul seconds into the third quarter and Audrey Cable wasn’t far behind, leaving the Jets vulnerable, and Arcanum did everything it could to take advantage.
With the duo sitting on the bench, the Trojans scored 15 points led by Kayla O’Daniel with 7 while limiting Franklin Monroe to just 4 points to grab a 26-22 lead.
“I knew the third quarter was going to be adverse when we got in foul trouble early, and I’m really glad the girls were able to hold it together and keep them (Arcanum) from developing a big lead,” Moore said. “Our reserves did a good job of keeping the game close enough for us going into the fourth quarter, and by doing that I knew we would be in good shape.”
With Audrey Cable and Conley both back in the game, the Jets were able to settle down and slowly wrestle the lead away from Arcanum and then take control it down the stretch.
The final stanza turned into the Cable show starring Audrey and Belle Cable, scoring 7 points each and both making 5-of-6 free throws to keep the Trojans at bay on their way to a 43-30 Cross County Conference win in a game much closer than the final score indicated.
“When Audrey Cable and Corina Conley got fouls early on we just went at them and they kept fouling,” Grote said. “You have to give FM credit for hanging in there with their two studs sitting on the bench for the entire third quarter and grinding it out.
“It was a rivalry game. We were pumped up and ready to go. We were down early, fought back, then got a lead … but we had way too many turnovers in this game, didn’t take care of the basketball and missed way too many layups. We simply just didn’t get the job done today,” Grote concluded.
“I told our girls this game was going to come down to who wants it more and in the fourth quarter. We were able to put it together and play with more discipline then took control to overcome the adversity we had during the game,” Moore said.
“Having this experience of fighting through foul trouble and relying on all our girls to step and while not panicking will help this team down the road and give us the confidence we need knowing we can get the job done in those situations in the future,” Moore added.
“I’m extremely proud of all our girls tonight. It was a team win. It took everybody to get it done,” Moore concluded.
Arcanum was led by Garno with 12 points and O’Daniel 10. The Trojans fell to 6-8 overall and 4-3 in the conference.
Franklin Monroe was led by Audrey Cable with 12 points and Morris with 10. The Jets improved to 10-2 overall and 6-2 in the CCC.
Box score:
Score by quarters
FM … 09 … 11 … 04 … 19 – 43
AR ….. 07 … 04 … 15… 04 – 30
Individual scoring
Franklin Monroe – Chloe Brumbaugh 4, Belle Cable 7, Corina Conley 6, Kennedy Morris 10, Stella Shellabarger 2, Chloe Peters 2, Audrey Cable 12: Totals 1-8-20/25 – 43
Arcanum – Elliana Sloan 2, Kayla O’Daniel 10, Camille Pohl 1, Gracie Garno 12, Lexi Unger 3, Macey Hartman 2; Totals 1-9-9/17 – 30
