Greencastle falters in opening game of the Terre Haute Tip-off Classic

Friday, November 9, 2012
Greencastle senior Rayleigh Amis (No. 23) skies for a rebound along with Northview's McKenzi Kumpf during Thursday's opening round game of the Terre Haute Tip-off Tournament.

TERRE HAUTE -- In the season opener for both teams, the Greencastle Tiger Cubs were plagued by turnovers and foul trouble as Northview pulled away from a halftime tie to claim a 52-36 victory in the Terre Haute Tip-off Tournament at West Vigo High School.

Neither team got off to a strong start on the offensive end of the court, combining to shoot 3-of-19 from the field in the opening period. However, the Tiger Cubs held a narrow 5-2 advantage at the first stop.

Greencastle was the first squad to gather itself as junior Shelby Earl knocked down a pair of three-pointers in the second quarter. The trifectas allowed the Tiger Cubs to open a small advantage before Northview upped the pressure defensively. Using a full court trap, the Knights forced eight turnovers in the period, which enabled the team to rally as sophomore Abbey Timberman scored all five of her points in the quarter to tie the game at 16-all at halftime.

Greencastle coach Bradley Key acknowledged his team's slow start and pointed to the normal issues present in the first game of the year.

"Both teams came out slow that's to be expected with the first game jitters," Key said. "In the second quarter we started missing some lay-ups and it sort of snowballed downhill from there. We saw some good things tonight. It was good to see Shelby (Earl) knock down some threes early. I would have liked to have seen that continue in the second half."

After Earl tallied 11 points before halftime, the Knights were able to keep her off the scoreboard over the final two periods. Turnovers remained a sore point after the break for Greencastle and Northview took advantage.

The Knights got an offensive rebound and put back from 5'11" sophomore Mikayla Rowan to take a 20-18 lead that they would not relinquish. The bucket sparked a 12-1 run that culminated in a three-point play by 6'0 Mallory Smith with 2:31 remaining in the third period. The burst put the Knights ahead 32-19.

Two Greencastle starters missed a sizable chunk of the first half with two fouls and those troubles continued into the fourth quarter as sophomore Jessica Lenihan fouled out with four points and four boards. Her presence, along with 5'11 senior Rayleigh Amis helped slow Rowan in the post, but down the stretch, the Knights' sophomore dominated the paint.

Rowan pulled down seven of her game-high 13 rebounds and added six of her game-high 19 points in the final period as Northview held Greencastle at bay.

"Northview has improved a lot over a year," Key said. "They didn't lose much from last year and going in we knew that could be a problem. The Rowan girl does a great job down low."

Northview's lead grew as large as 46-25 after a jumper from Cassie Weddle before Greencastle got a pair of free throws and a fieldgoal from Taylor Stoltey along with a single free throw from Callan Taylor to close to within the final 16-point margin.

Earl lead the Tiger Cubs with 11 points and Amis topped the team with five rebounds.

Greencastle continues tourney play on Saturday with a 10:30 a.m. contest at West Vigo.

At West Vigo

Tip-off Classic

Northview 2 14 16 20 -- 52

Greencastle 5 11 7 13 -- 36

Individual Scoring

Northview -- Halfhill 1-1 2-2 4, Timberman 2-4 1-1 5, Hughes 2-4 0-0 4, Rowan 9-12 1-3 19, Smith 3-7 1-1 7, Kumpf 2-7 2-4 6, Weddle 2-5 3-7 7, Girton 0-2 0-0 0, Fagg 0-0 0-0 0, Barrett 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 21-47 10-18 52.

Greencastle -- Basile 1-5 1-3 3, Taylor 1-12 2-4 5, Earl 4-12 0-1 11, R.Amis 2-5 1-4 5, Lenihan 2-8 0-2 4, D.Stoltey 0-2 0-0, Bridgewater 1-2 0-0 2, Smiley 0-2 0-0 0, Covert 0-1 2-2 2, T.Stoltey 1-1 2-4 4. Totals: 13-50 8-20 36.

3-point FG -- Nv 0-3 (Timberman 0-1, Hughes 0-1, Girton 0-1), GC 4-17 (Taylor 1-3, Earl 3-8, Basile 0-4, R.Amis 0-1, Covert 0-1). Total Rebounds -- Nv 45 (Rowan 13, Smith 6, Timberman 5), GC 30 (R.Amis 5, Lenihan 4, Taylor 4, Earl 4). Total Fouls -- Nv 17, GC 19. Fouled out -- Nv (Hughes), GC (Lenihan). Turnovers -- Nv 24, GC 25.Basile 0-4, R.Amis 0-1, Covert 0-1). Total Rebounds -- Nv 45 (Rowan 13, Smith 6, Timberman 5), GC 30 (R.Amis 5, Lenihan 4, Taylor 4, Earl 4). Total Fouls -- Nv 17, GC 19. Fouled out -- Nv (Hughes), GC (Lenihan). Turnovers -- Nv 24, GC 25.