GHS earns third-place finish

Saturday, January 23, 2016
GHS' Bethanie Burgeson puts up a shot at home earlier this season. (Banner Graphic/JAY LOCKETT)

SPENCER -- The Greencastle Tiger Cubs went down south to Owen Valley Friday night to play the matchup of second place division teams in the Western Indiana Conference. The Tiger Cubs used defense and their inside game in a 43-39 victory in the girls high school basketball crossover game.

Greencastle improved to 16-3 on the year, while the Patriots fell to 11-8.

"When you get to this point in the year, you've got know your identity. Our group knows we are a pretty good defensive team. We get after it. I was really pleased with our defensive effort," Greencastle coach Bradley Key said.

The Patriots shot only 15-of-50 from the field for the game and had 17 turnovers. Eight of those turnovers came in the first quarter as the Tiger Cubs played an aggressive zone defense to jump out to a 12-5 lead at the end of the period. Greencastle played inside out offensively with Gracie Smith nailing a three-pointer to start the game and Mia Stevens scoring six of her game-high 18 points in the period.

The Tiger Cub defense didn't let up in the second quarter. Owen Valley could only hit 3-of-15 shots in period and Greencastle didn't let the Patriots get second chances by pulling down 13 rebounds. The Tiger Cubs extended their lead to 23-13 at the half.

"We crashed the boards. I thought Allison White played absolutely awesome on the boards," Key said of the senior forward who pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds on the night.

Greencastle maintained its lead during the third stanza as both teams scored nine points in the quarter and the Tiger Cubs entered the fourth quarter with a comfortable 32-22 lead.

Both teams traded points through the first four minutes of the quarter, but the Owen Valley press started to wear on the Tiger Cubs and the Patriots made a run, cutting the lead to 41-39 with :17 left to play. Greencastle turned the ball over seven times and only attempted three field goals in the fourth quarter.

"When they turned up the pressure, I thought we got a little fantsy. Give them credit for cranking up the pressure and putting us in bad situations," Key said.

The Patriot offense came alive in the fourth quarter as they scored 17 points to rally to within two before the Tiger Cubs iced the game down the stretch with Jalyn Duff hitting four of six free throws in the final :39 of the game. The furious Patriot rally fell just a little short as Greencastle kept its composure and pulled out the victory.

"They hit some big shots in the fourth quarter. That freshman (Dazia Drake) is going to be special. Owen Valley is a solid team. They have one of the best turnarounds record-wise in the state from last year." Key said.

Drake led the Patriots with 14 points while Hailey Mitchell added 10 for Owen Valley. Stevens led the way for the Tiger Cubs with 18 points.

"I thought Mia came out attacking right away. She wanted the ball and made some good moves. I thought she played a great game, absolutely awesome," Key said.

The Tiger Cubs will travel to Western Boone on Saturday for a non-conference game.

At Owen Valley

Greencastle 12 11 9 11 -- 43

Owen Valley 5 8 9 17 -- 39

Tiger Cub Scoring: 16-39 9-15 43 (Burgeson 2-7 0-0 1 4, Smith 2-4 1-3 1 7, Bragg 1-3 0-1 2 2, White 0-5 3-4 1 3, Stevens 9-15 0-0 3 18, Ray 1-2 0-0 0 2, Barker 1-3 1-1 0 3, Duff 0-0 4-6 0 4)

3-point shots 2-13 (Smith 2-5, Burgeson 0-5, Bragg 0-2, Barker 0-1) Reb: (White 13, Stevens 7, Burgeson 3, Smith 3, Bragg 3, Ray 2)

Patriot Scoring: 15-50 2-4 39 (Drake 5-11 0-0 1 14, Cattorini 2-15 0-0 1 4, Schafer 0-4 0-0 2 0, Mitchell 5-13 1-2 4 12, Godwin 0-3 1-2 2 1, Herrington 3-3 0-0 3 8, Wesley 0-0 0-0 0 0, Truax 0-1 0-0 2 0)

3-point shots 7-12 (Drake 4-5, Herrington 2-3, Mitchell 1-3, Schafer 0-1) Reb: (Drake 3, Cattorini 2, Schafer 4, Mitchell 4, Godwin 4, Herrington 2)

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