Greencastle girls' hoops drops sectional battle against Edgewood

SPENCER -- Greencastle's girls' basketball team knew they would be in for a challenge playing 3A No. 10 Edgewood in the IHSAA sectional No. 28.

But not even Mustang fans would have envisioned the way their team performed in the first half, outscoring Greencastle 46-12 en route to a 71-38 win.

The Tiger Cubs were in trouble immediately as Edgewood grabbed a 6-0 lead. At 9-4, the game looked to be warming up before the Mustangs shut down Greencastle.

Callan Taylor scored all six of Greencastle's first quarter points, while Edgewood outscored the Tiger Cubs 15-2 to end the period.

Things didn't get better as again Greencastle scored six in the second quarter. The Mustangs closed the half on a 14-0 run that saw the game effectively over as a contest with a 46-12 halftime lead.

However, Greencastle did not cave in and outscored Edgewood 21-15 in the third period of play behind three Taylor Pruitt three-pointers and seven points from Hannah Wainman.

Edgewood would close the game out with a 10-5 fourth quarter as both teams moved in bench players late in the game, ending the game with the score 71-38 and Greencastle's season done.

Greencastle head coach Bradley Key said afterwards that the effort was definitely there from his squad.

"We wanted this chance. Give a lot of credit to Edgewood. That was one of the best first halves I've ever seen a team play against us," Key said.

"They hit everything. Our goal was to protect the lane. They had five three's in the first half and moved the ball well. Their first half buried us and they played well.

"The score wasn't indicative of how hard the girls played. I didn't feel like at any point we gave up. Give credit to the girls because they kept fighting," Key added.

"The girls wouldn't give up. That's what I love about this team. It says a lot about them."

Key said that the season was one that, at times, the seniors carried the team through.

"We came up with 13 wins. We lost 38 points in seniors and our second best scorer, Shelby Earl, tore her ACL seven games into the season," Key said.

"For a while, we were winning games with two players that had varsity experience. It's remarkable. We could have even gotten a couple more."

"I told people I thought we could get as many wins this year as we did last year and a lot of people thought I was nuts. But they did it because Taylor Pruitt and Hannah Wainman refused to lose and did what they had to do to win," Key said.

"Tonight, the score wasn't where we wanted it but I'm proud of those two. They came and played."

Fighting back tears, Key noted the squad will be better equipped for next year, while paying tribute to his departing seniors.

"It's hard to think about what's next because Erin Beck, Hannah Wainman and Taylor Pruitt mean that much to me, but the future is bright for Greencastle. We started two freshmen and a sophomore tonight and our best scorer will be back from an ACL tear," Key said.

"Things look good, but I'm going to miss those three seniors."

At Owen Valley High School

IHSAA 3A Sectional No. 28

Greencastle 6 6 21 5 -- 38

Edgewood 24 22 15 10 -- 71

individual Scoring

Greencastle -- 12-46 FG, 5-11 3-FG, 7-14 FT

Wainman 12, Pruitt 10, Taylor 8, Basile 5, Lenihan 1

Edgewood -- 25-64, 5-16 3-FG, 16-24 FT

Ang. Hacker 21, Brown 12, Rommel 9, Gilliland 9, Thornton 7, Lunn 7, Ash. Hacker 4, Weddle 2