Montpelier girls basketball beats Edgerton in high-scoring contest

“Those kind of experiences you need to make yourself better: pressure situations, being able to make some free throws — although I don’t think we were great from the line (11 of 19). But just being able to hang in a competitive game that went down to the wire and finding a way to win, huge for our team,” Montpelier coach Mike Bumb said, “especially with how we opened up the season against Hilltop.”

Montpelier (1-1), which started its season with a 41-30 nonleague loss to the Cadets on Friday, had multiple players provide key offensive contributions.

Jada Uribes dropped a team-high 15 points — including hitting 8 of 10 from the free-throw line — with four rebounds, while Kelsie Bumb (five boards, two steals) and Meara McGee (10 boards) each scored 14 points.

Mandy Taylor also scored eight points with three boards and two steals before fouling out seconds into the fourth quarter.

“I think our kids want to play so bad. They want to play, they love to play so much that I think they got themselves so keyed up in that first game and we just didn’t play well,” Mike Bumb said. “We relaxed tonight, we kind of lowered the ‘rah-rah’ kind of stuff and just said, ‘Go out and play.’

“We came out, shot the ball really well to start off the game. Did a better job tonight of taking the ball to the hoop, and that’s something we didn’t do such a good job the other night. So we’re real proud of how we played.”

On the other side of the court, however, Edgerton (0-3) was staying within striking distance the entire game and never let the Locos get a double-digit lead.

When Montpelier started the contest with a 14-6 run, an Addie Cape 3-pointer started a 12-5 Bulldogs’ stretch in the final 3:57 of the first quarter to cut the Locos’ lead to 19-18.

In the second quarter, Montpelier got out to a 24-20 lead with 5:30 to go via a Bumb layup, an Aleigha Hillard bucket and a Hillard free throw.

But Edgerton, which shot 42 percent (10 of 24) in the first half, didn’t shy away.

Alivia Farnham sank two free throws to begin an 11-4 run that gave the Bulldogs a 31-28 advantage with 1:41 left in the first half. She also added a mid-range jumper and converted a layup in the stretch.

Farnham, a 6-foot freshman, dropped a game-high 27 points by scoring inside and outside the 3-point arc and snagged seven boards in her breakout high school performance.

“She’s a young kid and she’s getting her confidence,” Edgerton coach Marchetta Caryer said. “I think the first couple games she wasn’t as confident. But her confidence is coming along and that’s just being young.

“... The basket I think looked pretty big for her tonight, and that’s nice to have when you can have a kid that can score that much in a game.”

Uribes, though, converted a three-point play and buried two free throws in the final minute of the first half to give Montpelier a 33-31 halftime edge.

And while Ava Swank scored a putback to tie the game at 33-all seconds into the third quarter, the Locos went on a 14-7 run the remainder of the frame to take a 47-40 lead into the final eight minutes.

The Bulldogs were able to cut the Locos’ lead to 50-46 on a Kennedy Stuut layup, 52-48 on a Farnham mid-range shot and 56-54 on two Farnham free throws.

But Montpelier held on, hitting 4-of-8 free throws in the final 2:04 of the game and not letting the Bulldogs convert a field goal.

Swank finished with nine points, four rebounds and two steals before fouling out just under halfway through the fourth quarter, while Taylor Smith chipped in seven points and three boards. Stuut also grabbed five rebounds.

Each team totaled 35 rebounds. Edgerton forced 21 turnovers and committed 17.

The Bulldogs have also only lost by a combined 11 points in their first three games. Edgerton fell 49-45 to Holgate on Friday and 37-35 to Pettisville on Saturday.

“I think a couple times we were down seven, eight points a few different times and we’ve just clawed our way back,” Caryer said. “The fight in these kids and the grind — and they want it. They’re working hard and they’re not getting down when we get down. And as a coach, that’s a huge sign of positivity.”

Montpelier 60, Edgerton 55

Montpelier 19 14 14 13 — 60

Edgerton 18 13 9 15 — 55

Montpelier: Uribes 2 1 8-10 15, McGee 3 1 5-6 14, Bumb 6 0 2-6 14, Taylor 4 0 0-0 8, Hillard 2 0 1-2 5, Hopper 2 0 0-3 4. Totals: 19-32 2-8 16-27 60.

Edgerton: Farnham 8 2 5-10 27, Swank 3 0 3-3 9, Smith 0 2 1-2 7, Everetts 1 1 0-0 5, Cape 0 1 1-2 4, Stuut 1 0 0-0 2, Warner 0 0 1-2 1. Totals: 13-36 6-22 11-19 55.

Junior Varsity: Montpelier 20-17.