Eagles defense swallows up Eels

EMINENCE -- More than a week since they'd last played together, the South Putnam girls' basketball team relied on defense in its win at Eminence on Monday, 49-30.

The Eagles had 18 steals and force 44 turnovers overall against the Eels as they found their legs after a week without practicing because of weather.

"We felt coming in that it was a game that we should win if we execute better than what we did," South Putnam coach Bill Merkel said. "When Eminence made it close, we pushed it back out a little bit and that's something new."

The Eagles dominated the rebounding battle as well, with a 40-22 advantage on the glass, but that was largely a product of their stifling defense that didn't allow the Eels to get shots.

Junior Emily Dobson posted a double-double in the win with 13 points and 10 rebounds, making 9-of-13 free throws.

South Putnam held a slim 10-9 lead after the first quarter but never trailed in the game. After taking the first eight minutes to get into the rhythm of the game, they took a quick 8-2 run to start the second quarter and started to clamp down defensively on Eminence senior Shelby Gore.

Gore finished with 15 points, but she had seven in the first quarter and picked up her fourth foul before halftime.

With the Eels' primary scorer mired in foul trouble and playing tentatively, the Eagles picked up their intensity in their trapping defense.

South Putnam had six players with at least two steals, led by sophomore Jessica Modglin's five and senior Aubrey Nichols's four.

Taking a 25-18 lead into halftime, the Eagles kept up their defense and became more patient offensively.

While the shots weren't falling, their offensive rebounding was consistent and the defense remained stout. Staying focused through offensive lulls is something the team has been working on, Merkel said, and it was demonstrated by junior Katelyn Lady, who had seven points but, more importantly, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals.

"Overall, I thought (Lady) had a nice game," Merkel said. "I've been on her pretty hard ... and finally she's starting to realize what she's capable of doing and what she should be doing."

Lady's defense on the top of press forced several turnovers that aren't measured by steals, including some of the numerous travels the Eels were called for.

Modglin, senior Amanda Barnes and freshman Jenna Carmichael all had six points for the Eagles and Nichols and sophomore Katie Hewitt had five.

South Putnam hosts Riverton Parke tonight and is then off until Friday when it hosts West Central Conference and county-rival Greencastle in the first game of a double-header beginning at 6 p.m.

"The girls have got to get confidence and learn how to win," Merkel said.

South Putnam (49): Dobson 2-7 9-12 13, Lady 3-11 0-0 7, Barnes 3-12 0-0 6, Nichols 2-14 0-3 5, Hewitt 2-3 1-2 5, Modglin 2-4 2-4 6, Carmichael 3-5 0-0 6, Erickson 0-0 1-1 1, Arnold 0-5 0-0 0, Higgins 0-0 0-1 0, Schroer 0-0 0-0 0. Total 17-61 14-25 49.

Eminence (30): Gore 4-8 7-9 15, Moore 3-9 1-4 7, Hall 2-4 2-2 6, Foote 1-3 0-0 0, Teters 0-0 0-0 0, Baldin 0-1 0-0 0, Finch 0-0 0-0 0, Storm 0-0 0-0 0. Total 10-25 10-15 30.

Team stats