Tiger Cubs showed great improvement despite sectional loss

Friday, February 3, 2017
Greencastle senior Gracie Smith battles with Western Boone’s Olivia Hole for the ball during Wednesday’s sectional game.
Banner Graphic/Joey Bennett

LEBANON — In their regular-season matchup on Jan. 21, Greencastle was hitting well from 3-point range and was able to take Western Boone into overtime before suffering a nine-point loss.

The shots didn’t fall as well on Wednesday for the Tiger Cubs, and the Stars won the rematch 60-41 to advance to tonight’s semifinal round against Lebanon.

Western Boone jumped out of the gates fast, leading 13-2 after one quarter. Greencastle’s Nailah Ray, a key part of the Tiger Cub lineup, picked up two quick fouls in the opening period to further complicate the situation.

Ray was needed to play in the second quarter, and hit back to back baskets to start a brief Greencastle flurry. Seelye Stoffregen added a pair of free throws and Claire Gillen had a basket to cut the gap to 15-11 with 3:15 left in the period.

Western Boone scored six straight, with another Gillen basket making the difference 23-13 at the half.

Greencastle’s Gracie Smith scored the opening basket of the second half, but the Stars broke the game open for good with a 16-3 run.

Marin Nally had the only Tiger Cub point with a 3-pointer during that fatal stretch.

Western Boone led 42-24 after three periods, and standout sophomore guard Madison Jones had 11 of her game-high 20 points in the fourth quarter to seal the win for her team.

For Greencastle, the game was not exactly the ending of the season the Tiger Cubs had hoped. Yet, considering their 0-4 start, coach Bradley Key considers the season a success as a whole.

“We talked about what a team’s legacy is when they are all said and done,” Key said. “This team is probably the most improved I’ve had in eight years of coaching. We were in trouble at the beginning.... we were young, with no experience at the guard spot and Mia Stevens went down [due to injury]. My brother just said that I would have taken 13 wins at that point, and I would have.”

Key said his team did a good job of “morphing” into a team.

“We have weaknesses, which were apparent in this game, but they were able to cover them up by their strengths,” he said.

Stevens was unable to play all season, and one positive note is that all other Tiger Cubs except Ray and Smith will return — many from a strong sophomore class who will have two years left.

“Gracie and Nailah played amazingly the last two months of the season. They came to the party, were aggressive and wanted to score. You don’t win 13 games without senior leaders like that.”

Key, who posted his eighth straight winning season at the helm of the Tiger Cubs, thought his team played well despite losing.

“We played hard for four quarters,” he said. “I was very proud of our effort, even though the scoreboard didn’t show it.”

Key’s team will return four starters (Ray was the first player off the bench, mostly splitting time with Gillen) for next season.

“I was really pleased with how our junior class (Rose White, Nally and Layna Robinson) came along as the season went by.

“Rose is a great rebounder, and I know she will work on her offensive skills, “ Key added. “Marin and Layna both worked very hard every day. That says a lot about this team, since those two didn’t get a lot of playing time, but they kept working hard.”

The sophomore class includes Gillen (the team’s leading scorer), point guard Jalyn Duff, wing player Bailey Shuee and the aggressive Stoffregen.

“Claire was our leading scorer, and I was hard on her all year but she was great,” he said. “The others grew into varsity players probably before they were ready.”

Next year, however, is a long way off.

“We have a lot coming back,” Key said. “But this one is going to sting.”

WESTERN BOONE (60) — Jones 8-13 2-3 20, Hole 6-13 1-1 17, Gubera 4-9 0-0 8, Wright 0-0 0-2, Raby 3-6 1-2 7, Brewer 2-4 0-1 6, Wilkinson 1-1 0-2 2. Totals 24-46 FG, 4-11 FT, 60 TP

GREENCASTLE (41) — Gillen 3-8 3-6 9, Smith 3-12 0-0 8, Duff 2-8 1-3 7, White 0-0 0-0 0, Shuee 0-3 2-5 2, Ray 4-10 2-2 10, Nally 1-6 0-0 3, Stoffregen 0-3 2-2 2, Robinson 0-1 0-0 0, Stevens 0-0 0-0 0, Weliever 0-0 0-0 0, Amis 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 13-52 FG, 10-18 FT, 41 TP

Western Boone 13 10 19 18 — 60

Greencastle 2 11 11 17 — 41

3-point shooting — WB 8-20 (Jones 2-6, Hole 4-8, Gubera 0-1, Raby 0-1, Brewer 2-4), Greencastle 5-27 (Smith 2-8, Duff 2-8, Nally 1-5, Stoffregen 0-2, Robinson 0-1).

Next game — Western Boone (14-9) plays Lebanon tonight in the semifinals. Greencastle finished its season at 13-10.

Sectional schedules

CLASS 2A SECTIONAL 44

At Cascade

Tuesday

Cloverdale 63, North Putnam 26

South Putnam 43, Southmont 42

Today

6 p.m. – Monrovia (9-13) vs. Cloverdale (15-8)

7:30 p.m. – Cascade (17-5) vs. South Putnam (13-10)

Saturday

7 p.m. – Friday’s winners in championship game

CLASS 3A SECTIONAL 25

At Lebanon

Tuesday

North Montgomery 41, Frankfort 30

Wednesday

Lebanon 73, Crawfordsville 28

Western Boone 60, Greencastle 41

Today

6 p.m. – Tri-West (10-11) vs. North Montgomery (11-12)

7:30 p.m. – Lebanon (16-7) vs. Western Boone (14-9)

Saturday

7:30 p.m. – Friday’s winners in championship game

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