North Montgomery knocks off Attica 64-60

Chris May

Boys Basketball Coordinator

Despite a 39-point effort – 29 of them in the 2^nd half – from Attica Miss Basketball candidate Brittany Rayburn, the North Montgomery Lady Chargers opened up the 2007-08 season with a 64-60 home victory November 10 over the eighth-ranked Lady Ramblers.

The Lady Chargers (1-0), under the direction of first year head coach Allison Skapin, got 20 points from 5-11 senior guard Ashley Buis, who also drew the defensive assignment of guarding the Purdue-bound Rayburn.

“Ashley was phenomenal today, she stepped up,” commented Skapin.  “We needed her and she knew it and she came out and played an aggressive and intense game.”

“She’s a natural athlete and she knows when she needs to bring it and she did.”

“It was tough (guarding Rayburn), I’m not going to lie,” said Buis, the lone senior for North Montgomery.  “We worked on helpside (defense) all week because we knew she is a good player and we worked really hard on it.”

Attica (0-1) stormed out to a 14-5 lead less than six minutes into the game, but a 20-8 run fueled by eight points from Buis put the Chargers ahead 25-22 with 55 seconds left in the first half.  A free throw and three-point basket by Attica in the closing seconds gave them a 26-25 halftime lead, with Rayburn accounting for 10 points.

Despite picking up her third foul 1:31 into the second half, it was time for Rayburn to shine. 

The 5-11 do-it-all for the Lady Ramblers scored all 11 of Attica’s third quarter points including consecutive three pointers late in the quarter, however the host Lady Chargers took a 38-37 lead, as Buis (four points), and juniors Kate Sparks, Sarah Sparks, and Natalie Robinson (three points apiece) shared the scoring load.

Attica continued to ride Rayburn in the fourth quarter, but a swing in free throw shooting aided the Lady Chargers in the end.

North Montgomery, who missed their first seven free throws and were 2-of-9 at halftime, came through to hit 14-of-16 free throws in the fourth quarter, while Attica hit only 6-of-11 in the final quarter.

Rayburn continued her hot streak, scoring 18 of Attica’s 23 fourth quarter points, but the Lady Chargers were able to persevere with key defensive plays by Buis – including a backcourt steal she converted into a layup and a defensive rebound she took coast-to-coast – who scored eight points in the final stanza.

The Lady Chargers wrapped up the victory by hitting five of six free throws in the final 27.1 seconds.

The late free throw success was noted by North Montgomery’s head coach.

“They came through in the clutch, which is good to see,” said Skapin.  “We’re going to have to do something about the missed free throws at the beginning.

The win was the second straight season opening win for the Lady Chargers over Attica.

“These girls came out, they didn’t give up, and they played with intensity,” said Skapin.  “They came out a little timid at first but I think once they got in rhythm, they picked it up and played the game they knew they could play.”

“It(winning) means a lot to me mainly because we worked as a team,” said Buis. 

Buis led the winners with 20 points, while junior Sarah Sparks finished with 11.