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Eagles defeat Sparkplugs in sectional
It was an exciting evening for South Putnam and its girls' basketball team when they took control of the sectional matchup against Speedway Tuesday and won the game 45-31.
A close game early turned into a sizable margin after the Lady Eagles went on run in the third quarter. The win propels South Putnam to the sectional semifinal against its county rival Cloverdale.
"In the first half things just kind of stayed close," Eagle coach Tim Garver said. "We were playing OK, but we went into halftime and told them that we needed to block out and get the ball out and start moving it; start running a little bit."
After a 7-4 first quarter where only senior Emily Dobson and junior Katie Hewitt scored, freshman Lillie Stein came to life and scored seven in the second.
"We were telling the girls in the second half that they were passing up open shots," Garver said. "Once they stated opening it up and Bieghlar started to get going, then Katie Hewitt can get inside there and people have to guard her because she can make things happen."
After a two-point halftime lead, the Eagles really took control. The defensive pressure intensified and the Eagles began to spread the ball around. South Putnam went on a 22-8 run in the third.
"It was halftime," Hewitt said. "Coach always gives good pep-talks. We realized we needed to pick it up and play better defense. We weren't happy with where we were."
The Eagles continued rolling and used the clock to its advantage and continued to make scoring hard for the Sparkplugs. The coached praised all of the Lady Eagles' effort including junior Jessica Modglin who played well in the unfamiliar position of point guard.
"The girls really just dug down," Garver said. "I thought Lillie Stein played a tremendous game. She was just on fire in the first half. In the second they tried to take her points away but she picked up the defensive pressure."
In his first year at South Putnam, Garver is happy to have the first post-season win out of the way, but the Eagles will be anxious to add a third win against the Lady Clovers.
"I'm just really proud of the girls," Garver said. "It's one of those deals where as it's the very first game of sectional there are always nerves. They stuck together in the second half. It was just a great win."
Garver has consistently talked about establishing a culture of winning for South Putnam basketball and the Eagle seniors are also elated to continue their legacy at the school.
"It is awesome," Dobson said. "We've really just improved all season long. We're just excited to be able to take it to another step and play Cloverdale. That's going to be a really intense game. The whole sectional tomorrow will be intense too but we are just excited for another opportunity to play and play as a team. That's definitely what got us here."
At South Putnam
IHSAA Sectional No. 44
Speedway 7 8 8 8 -- 31
South Putnam 4 1 3 22 6 -- 45
Individual Scoring
Speedway 13-49 (Dailey 3-9 8, Mccaughey 4-8 8, M. Smith 2-4 5,Hubbard 2-8 5, Wallace 1-2 3, Moore 1-5 2) South Putnam 17-45 (Stein 7-13 1-2 16, Bieghlar 5-12 1-2 14, Hewitt 3-6 2-2 8, Dobson 2-5 4, Modglin 0-4 2-2 2, Higgins 0-1 1-2 1)
Team Stats
3-point shot Speedway 5-11 (Dailey 2-3, Hubbard 1-1, Wallace 1-1, M. Smith 1-3) South Putnam 4-13 (Bieghlar 3-6, Stein 1-2) Rebounding Speedway 25 (Mccaughey 12, Dailey 6, Moore 3, Cross 2, Hubbard 1, M Smith 1) South Putnam 29 (Dobson 5, Stein 5, Hewitt, Carmichael 5, Modglin 4, Lady 2, Bieghlar 2, Higgins 1) Assist 3 (Hubbard 1, Moore 1, Dailey 1) South Putnam 10 (Stein 3, Bieghlar 2, Hewitt 2, Carmichael 2, Modglin 1) Steals Speedway 11 (Cross 6, Dailey 4, Mccaughey 1) South Putnam 12 (Stein 4, Higgins 3, Bieghlar 2, Hewitt 1, Modglin 1, Carmichael 1)