Hardin-Central varsity basketball coach Brent Behler is amazed at the progress he has seen from his girls team since this summer. “This summer, they kind of looked a little lost. … But they have absorbed everything I’ve said and they are just executing,” Behler said. Behler made his comment on Dec. 15, about 90 minutes after the Bulldogs had executed well enough to thump visiting Northwestern of Mendon 53-23. They quickly built a double-digit cushion, leading 16-6 after one quarter. They were up by as many as 17 during the second quarter and led by 14 (29-15) at halftime. A 10-1 third quarter helped Hardin-Central pull away. Sophomore Jaden Mauzey sank a free throw with 2 minutes, 28 seconds remaining to provide Northwestern’s lone thirdquarter point. Hardin-Central then outscored Northwestern 14-7 the fourth quarter, capping an evening that went well in some key ways, according to senior Kylee Wheeler. “I felt like our defense was good, for the most part – (we were), like,…