Cougar eighth-graders use stifling defense to top GMS

Thursday, March 15, 2018
The North Putnam Middle School eighth-grade girls are the 2018 Putnam County Champions.
Banner Graphic/GARY HAZLETT

The North Putnam Cougar eighth-grade girls basketball team stifled the Greencastle Tiger Cub offense as they took the Putnam County Championship game by a score of 29-12. The Cougars forced 37 Cub turnovers and overcame a poor shooting night to win the title.

“It was the end of a successful middle school career for these girls. They are really fun to work with and I think they have grown a lot as individual basketball players,” coach Jarrod Duff said of this class winning its second consecutive Putnam County title.

North suffocated the Cubs in the early going. Greencastle turned the ball over 14 times against the Cougar press in the first quarter. The turnovers caused the Cubs to only get one field goal attempt in the period. The Cougars were able to muster enough offense to lead 7-0 at the end of the first quarter.

“We didn’t shoot the ball very well. I tell them that if shots aren’t falling that you win the game with your defense,” Duff said.

The Cubs finally got on the board to open the second quarter with a Raigan Chavez rebound basket, but North went on a 10-0 run to end the half and lead 21-4 at the break. Brie Miller and Kyla Willis led the Cougars with six points each in the quarter as the their offense picked up the pace by hitting 6-of-11 shots from the field and converting a couple of free throws.

“We didn’t play very well tonight. Our offense wasn’t good and we missed a lot of layups. It is really good to win when you don’t play your best,” Duff said.

Neither team was able to score much in the third quarter. The two teams combined to score eight points in the period and had 16 total turnovers. Each team was able score four points and the 17-point halftime margin remained the same.

Again, the teams each scored four points in the final stanza. Greencastle and North emptied their benches during the period and North was able to finish the game with a 29-12 victory and the trophy.

The 37 turnovers by Greencastle were evident in the shooting statistics for the game. Greencastle could only get 19 shots for the game, while the Cougars put up 43 shots.

Greencastle’s Maddelyn Garl led the Cubs with four points, while Juliette Tomamichel pulled down 13 rebounds. Miller led all scorers with 13 points, while Annabelle Gross and Willis added six points each for the Cougars.

“This group of girls will be able to really help our program continue to improve and get better next year and as they get older,” Duff said.

GREENCASTLE (12) – Zellers 1-5 0-0 2, Elam 0-0 0-1 0, Chavez 1-5 0-0 2, Tomamichel 1-1 0-0 2, Garl 2-4 0-0 4, Good 0-0 0-0 0, Dinn 0-1 0-0 0, Pearson 0-0 0-0 0, Rashid 1-3 0-0 2, Byrd 0-0 0-0 0, Brennan 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 6-19 FG, 0-1 FT, 12 TP.

NORTH PUTNAM (29) – Davies 0-5 0-0 0, Gross 2-4 2-2 6, Willis 2-7 2-6 6, Miller 6-13 1-4 13, Stevenson 1-1 0-0 2, Wolf 0-2 0-0 0, Reed 1-3 0-0 2, Lawless 0-0 0-0 0, Weir 0-3 0-0 0, Judd 0-2 0-0 0, Lotzow 0-3 0-2 0. Totals 12-43 FG, 5-14 FT, 29 TP.

Greencastle 0 4 4 4 — 12

North Putnam 7 14 4 4 — 29

3-Point Shooting — GHS 0-0, NP 0-6 (Willis 0-1, Davies 0-2, Weir 0-1, Gross 0-1, Reed 0-1). Rebounds – GHS 29 (Zellers 2, Elam 2, Chavez 5, Tomamichel 13, Garl 3, Good 1, Dinn 1, Pearson 1) NP – 19 (Willis 2, Weir 1, Lotzow 3, Gross 4, Miller 5, Lawless 1, Stevenson 2) FG Pct. – GHS 31.6, NP 27.9. FT Pct. – GHS 0.0, NP 35.7. Turnovers – GHS 37, NP 13.

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