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Eagles win defensive battle 35-27
While it didn't have the same thrill as last year's season-opening overtime win, the South Putnam girls' basketball team got what it wanted Tuesday night at Rockville.
The Eagles pressured the Rox into 28 turnovers on the night and outscored the hosts in each of the last three quarters to take a 35-27 victory and hand new boss Tim Garver his first win as a head coach.
Garver said the locker room was a happy place to be after a strong defensive performance against a side the team knew little about.
"I thought we played really well for a first game," Garver said. "I know we were nervous coming out because we didn't know what Rockville was going to do.
"We knew they would play a lot of zone defense but other than that, we didn't have time to scout them or know much about them. We asked the girls to run a game plan we put together and they did that."
South Putnam trailed 6-2 early in the first quarter before a Katelyn Lady three trimmed the lead to 6-5.
The Eagles grabbed their first lead of the game when Ariel Higgins scored to give the visitors a 9-8 lead but ended the period tied at 11-11 after Rockville scored the final three points of the quarter.
Turnovers began to bog down the game as the second quarter rolled along as steals and jump balls became more numerous than the amount of points being scored.
A three-point play by Miranda Bieghler proved to be the difference by halftime as the visitors took an 18-15 lead into the break.
While the shots were not always falling, Garver said the offense had a good balance to it.
"Katie Hewitt did a good job for us offensively when she got the ball and posted up," Garver said. "Emily Dobson did a good job with her movement off the ball.
"Miranda Bieghler did an awesome job of getting open and getting good looks from three. Some of those shots didn't go down, but it's early and if we keep shooting, we'll knock them down."
Higgins became the focal point of the South Putnam defense in the second half as Garver sent the senior guard out to mirror Rockville guard Morgan Black, a tactic that the head coach said threw off the Rox offense.
"I think they did pretty well in the first half," Garver said. "We made a few adjustments at halftime.
"We felt like we could pick up the tempo with our pressure defense. Ariel Higgins came in and did a fabulous job of getting right in there with (Rockville's Morgan Black) and basically shut her down.
"She did a good job and once we got (Black) frustrated, that opened up a lot of other defensive steals for us," Garver added.
After Rockville scored five of the opening seven points, Bieghler responded with a three, Katie Hewitt converted a three-point play and Lillie Stien added a basket to give the Eagles a 28-20 lead.
South Putnam entered the fourth quarter with a 28-23 advantage that was never truly threatened after Hewitt and Higgins helped to extend the lead to nine at 34-25.
Fouls mounted up for the Eagles but a subpar shooting night at the line by the hosts ensured that the visitors got off to a 1-0 start for the second year in a row.
Hewitt led the Eagles with 10 points while Bieghler added eight points. Dobson grabbed eight rebounds, including four on the offensive end, while Higgins finishedwith six steals on the night.
Paige Boardman paced the Rox with 11 points and gathered half of Rockville's 28 rebounds.
Garver noted that the team got better on the boards in the second half but still needed to keep pressing for more rebounds.
"We've got to continue to work on rebounding, crashing the boards and blocking out," Garver said. "Realistically, we told the girls at halftime that every time the ball goes up, we have got to get it.
"I think we out-rebounded them quite a bit in the second half. That helped us to take the advantage."
Next up for South Putnam is a trip to Edgewood Friday night, a team which the Eagles have not beaten since the 2005-06 season.
Garver said that going on the road in the right state of mind would be a big part in determining how the game played out.
"We've told the girls that they have to believe in themselves," Garver said. "Regardless of playing an A, 2A or 3A school, the game can be won or lost from the beginning.
"We want to go in to a game like that and compete. If we compete hard and play our game, we'll take the results as they come."
But for at least a few minutes on Tuesday night, Garver said the squad and the South Putnam community could enjoy a well earned victory.
"This group of girls deserved this win tonight," Garver said. "They've worked so hard and the locker room was ecstatic in getting that first win.
"We'll keep working at it because that's all we can do. I've enjoyed it and the girls and the parents are pretty fired up for this win tonight."
At Rockville
South Putnam 11 7 10 7 - 35
Rockville 11 4 8 4 - 27
Scoring
South Putnam - 14-53 FG, 2-15 3-FG, 5-10 FT - Hewitt 10, Bieghler 8, Modglin 5, Higgins 4, Lady 3, Dobson 3, Stein 2, Erickson 0, Carmichael 0
Rockville - 10-34 FG, 1-5 3-G, 6-15 FT - Boardman 11, White 7, Breedlove 3, Black 2, Lear 2, Gordon 1, Carrington 1, Pratt 0, Wicker 0
Rebounding (Offensive)
South Putnam 23 (14); Rockville 28 (11)
Assists
South Putnam 11; Rockville 4
Steals
South Putnam 14; Rockville14
Turnovers
South Putnam 22; Rockville 28
Blocks
South Putnam 0; Rockville 0
Fouls South Putnam 18; Rockville 12
Next Game: South Putnam (1-0) travels to Edgewood Friday.