Naomi House has the ability to take over a game.
Morton’s senior guard definitely did that against Munster on Wednesday night.
House scored 16 of her team-high 23 points in the second half, including nine in the third period, leading the Governors (9-0) to a 60-47 victory over the Mustangs.
“Naomi had a pretty good game, and she played awesome, but she wasn’t our player of the game,” Morton coach Tamara Somerville said.
According to Somerville, Hannah Hammar, who scored 12 points and was extremely active defensively, earned that honor.
“Hammar played much better than the last time out (a win over Lighthouse on Monday night),” Somerville said. “Hannah kept her team involved, but it took a team effort to finish off this game. For the most part, they all played together and we pulled it out.
“It wasn’t our best game. I know we have more, but we played harder. When everybody starts putting everything together, we’ll be fine.”
The Govs might not have been all right without House’s big game.
The senior transfer from Bishop Noll came up with seven steals and six rebounds.
With the game tied at 35 early in the third quarter, House made a couple of steals, going coast-to-coast to score on both. She also added a pair of free throws, giving Morton a 41-35 lead and the momentum.
At one point, House scored nine of 12 points to help Morton (9-0) build a 47-35 lead and complete a 12-0 surge.
“Our mindset was just defense,” House said. “We had to come out in the second half playing better than we did in the first half. Our defense really picked it up second half. I can’t take the credit. Our whole team picked it up. We need to start playing defense in the first half like we did in the second half. If we do that, we’ll be playing good defense for four quarters.”
Until House took over, Munster (4-6) stayed close as Megan Zabrecky recorded a game- and career-high 25 points.
“We knew House was tough to match up to when she wanted to play,” Munster coach Jim Davidson said. “I don’t think she played her best, but when she had to take it over, she did some things that we couldn’t stop.”
Despite the loss, Davidson wasn’t totally disappointed.
“If you look at the effort and where we’re at right now, compared to where we were four weeks ago, I’m happy,” he said. “We’re headed in the right direction. The girls are starting to work hard. They’re starting to see some things that we didn’t see at the beginning of the year.
“We’re starting to compete with some teams, too. Four weeks ago, they would have beaten us by 40. I really believe that, the way we were playing.”
RailCats bolster roster: The RailCats added four players in the completion of a trade with Grand Prairie and immediately traded one, outfielder Justin Byrd, to Schaumburg of the Frontier League for a player to be named later. The newcomers staying with Gary are left-hander Steton Nelson, right-hander Taylor Black and infielder Ridge Hoopii-Haslam.
Oilmen add Nisle: St. Joseph’s infielder Alex Nisle, a Lake Central graduate, will play for the Northwest Indiana Oilmen next season.
LC’s Mamelson picks PUC: Lake Central’s John Mamelson signed a tennis letter of intent with Purdue Calumet.
John O’Malley is a freelance writer for the Post-Tribune. Post-Tribune staff contributed to this story.
