If Ada-Borup’s bench can be heard counting passes before attempting to score at a game’s end, it’s usually a good thing, especially against class 2A Barnesville.
The counting was initiated once the Cougar’s lead reached 25 points, and it ceased after Ada-Borup took Thursday’s game 67-39 over Barnesville (8-5) in Ada.
Pacing No. 5 Ada-Borup (9-1) offensively was its lone senior, Megan Kolness.
Kolness made her presence felt by amassing a game high 32 points. She not only set the tone on offense, but defense too, as she snatched 8 rebounds and collected 4 steals.
“Megan’s performance on both ends of the court tonight was the best I’ve ever seen from her,” Ada-Borup coach Dave Smart said. “She’s our leader on the floor, and she definitely showed that tonight.”
Barnesville’s usual leader didn’t perform anywhere near the heyday she had in Monday’s overtime loss to Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton.
After Sydney Boom scored 23 points against Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton, Boom was put into fits by the Cougars’ defense, managing to score just 8 points.
“Heidi Eggen, Lexi Merkens and Haley Poehler all contributed to getting Boom frustrated,” Smart said. “When we’re able to guard her with different girls and get the same results, it really helps our cause, especially when we’re able to do such a thing against our opponent’s top scorer.”
Barnesville shot 33% from the field, compared to Ada-Borup’s 42% shooting performance. The Cougars also kept its turnover number to just 11, while the Trojans gave up 22 possessions, and it was out-rebounded by Ada-Borup, 31 to 20.
Ada-Borup’s ability to remain aggressive while maintaining ball control, Kolness’ scoring frenzy and the shutdown of Boom all led to the surprisingly large, 28 point win over Barnesville. The win pushed its winning streak to 6 games, and it now hasn’t suffered a loss for a month.
“We did a really good job taking care of the ball even with it in as many hands as it was tonight,” Smart said. “When the minutes have counted in the past 5 games, we’ve played some of our best basketball, and I think we took another step in the right direction of playing our best basketball with this win.”
Ada-Borup's Monica Vega drives baseline during Thursday's game against Barnesville in Ada.
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