Balanced Cubs get past Lebanon

Tuesday, January 30, 2018
Rose White of Greencastle and Lebanon’s Ashlyn Terrill battle for a rebound.
Banner Graphic/JOEY BENNETT

CRAWFORDSVILLE — Lebanon poured in 14 first-quarter points, but Greencastle’s defense held the Tigers to single digits in each of the final three quarters in recording a 48-34 win over Lebanon.

Greencastle will now meet Southmont in Friday’s first semifinal game.

Rose White got the Cubs off to a strong start with nine first-quarter points, but the Tiger got a basket from Emma Huse with 1:28 left in the opening period to give her team a 14-12 lead at the first stop.

The Cubs got five second-quarter points from Seelye Stoffregen in assuming a 22-19 halftime lead they would never relinquish.

In the third period, the Cubs began running a patient halfcourt offense that saw them both get numerous layups and take a little time off the clock.

“In the second half, we did a good job of moving the ball with five players being patient,” Greencastle coach Bradley Key said. “Everyone was waiting, setting their man up and making good passes for open shots. I’ve always liked our offensive scheme, but it hasn’t always worked like this.

“That’s why you work all year to get ready for the sectional.”

Jalyn Duff started the second half with a trey for the Cubs to put their lead up to six, but two quick Lebanon baskets quickly cut the gap back to one.

Duff hit a free throw and Stoffregen added another basket for a 28-23 advantage. Stoffregen added a trey and Allison Stevens scored on a layup with 1:07 left in the quarter to give the Cubs a 33-27 lead at the final stop.

Lebanon’s Paige Jones hit a free throw just nine seconds into the fourth quarter, but from that point it was all Cubs.

Greencastle’s Allison Stevens goes up for a layup in Tuesday night’s sectional game.
Banner Graphic/JOEY BENNETT

Stevens, Duff and White each had a basket in a 6-0 run that put Greencastle ahead 39-28 with 4:45 left.

The Tigers had one more run left, as Gabby Brewer and Hallie Montgomery sandwiched treys around a Duff free throw to cut the Greencastle lead to 40-34 with 2:16 left.

The Tigers were done scoring, and the Cubs added eight insurance points over the final two minutes to seal their 15th win of the season.

“What a team win,” Key said. “You just can’t say that too much. We had good balanced scoring again, and that’s what you have to have.”

The outsized Cubs did a masterful job of keeping Tori Harker, Lebanon’s top scorer at 15 points per game, in check. Harker, who stands 5-10 and will play college volleyball at Indiana-East next year, was held to just six points.

“We knew they were big, and we had to just sag down and help out in the lane,” Key said. “To keep Harker to six points was a great job. Bailey Shuee did a great job of staying with her despite being smaller.

“Jalyn Duff ran the show really well, and had some amazing passes,” he added. “The final score was 14 points, but it didn’t seem that w

Duff led the Cubs with 17 points, while White added 13 and Stoffregen had 12.

The Cubs will now meet a Southmont team they defeated 53-38 in November for their first win of the season.

“They have a good guard [Avery Hess] who can cause a lot of problems,” Key said. “We just have to come ready to play.

“We had a team great effort and we need to keep getting that every night,” he added. “There are no easy victories for Greencastle this year.”

LEBANON (34) — Harker 3-5 0-1 6, Brewer 2-7 0-0 6, Redman 0-3 0-0 0, Huse 2-12 0-0 4, Wirey 4-10 0-0 10, Jones 0-2 1-2 1, Terrill 1-3 0-0 2, Montgomery 2-5 0-0 5. Totals 14-47 FG, 1-3 FT, 34 TP

GREENCASTLE (48) — White 6-7 1-2 13, Duff 5-12 5-8 17, Shuee 0-6 0-0 0, Stevens 3-6 0-0 6, Robinson 0-0 0-0 0, Nally 0-0 0-0 0, Trigg 0-0 0-0 0, Doan 0-0 0-0 0, Slack 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-44 FG, 6-10 FT, 48 TP

Lebanon 14 5 8 7 — 34

Greencastle 12 10 11 15 — 48

3-point shooting — Lebanon 5-14 (Brewer 2-5, Huse 0-1, Wirey 2-6, Montgomery 1-2), Greencastle 4-16 (Duff 2-3, Shuee 0-4, Stoffregen 2-8, Stevens 0-1). Turnovers — Greencastle 6, Lebanon 10.

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