PITSBURG – The Franklin Monroe Lady Jets dropped a 39–22 non-conference home contest to the Houston Lady Wildcats, a game that was largely controlled by the visitors from the opening tip.
Houston erupted for a 15–0 first-quarter lead, setting the tone early, though the Lady Jets responded by winning both the second and fourth quarters.
“We have a lot to work on,” said first-year Franklin Monroe coach Carrie Wood. “The biggest thing is the change of discipline. I’m going to be very disciplined with my girls, and there is pushback with that, but we’re going to continue to be disciplined, and we’re going to change the dynamic of our program.”
Franklin Monroe steadied itself in the second quarter, edging Houston 7–6 behind a Brinley Flora 3-pointer. The teams went to the locker room with the Wildcats holding a 21–7 advantage.
“We had a much better second half,” Wood added. “We dug a 15-point deficit in the first quarter and lost by 17, so take that first quarter away and it’s a whole different ballgame.”
Houston regained control in the third, outscoring the Lady Jets 11–4 to extend its lead to 32–11.
Franklin Monroe again punched back in the final period, winning the quarter 11–7 behind a pair of Alivia Addis triples, but the early deficit proved too much to overcome as Houston secured the 17-point victory.
“Today my underclassmen stepped up,” Wood said. “They brought the defense, they made some shots to change the momentum, and they were the ones we put into the game to make a difference — and they did that.”
Addis led Franklin Monroe with six points, while Houston showcased balanced scoring with eight players reaching the stat sheet.
BOXSCORE:
HOUSTON 39, FRANKLIN MONROE 22
HOUSTON – O. Maier 9, O. Burks 7, C. Beaver 6, L. Crim 6, A. Mowery 4, B. Breeze 3, Slife 2, Wilkins 2 – TOTALS 12 9-21 2 39
FRANKIN MONROE – A. Addis 6, P. Buhl 5, B. Flora 3, A. Riffle 3, A. Figel 3, K. Brandt 2 – TOTALS 4 5-12 3 22
3-POINTERS
Houston 2 (L. Crim 1, O. Maier 1)
Franklin Monroe 3 (A. Addis 2, B. Flora 1)
SCORE by QUARTERS
15-06-11-07 39 Houston
00-07-04-11 22 Franklin Monroe
