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Cubs dominate OT to beat Patriots
Often when a high school basketball team sees the opponent tie the game on a 3-pointer at the end of regulation, the opponent gains enough momentum to win in overtime.
Greencastle took the opposite approach on Tuesday night, torching Owen Valley 15-5 in the extra period to pull out a 60-50 victory to avenge a pair of lopsided losses to the Patriots last year.
“I made a statement to my brother who has been with me a long time as my assistant, and I said if we don’t win this game in overtime it’s going to set us back a lot longer than I want it to,” Greencastle coach Tod Windlan said. “That [3-pointer at the end of regulation] was a dagger. I’ve never been more proud of a team to have the grit to come out and win the overtime by 10 when that happens.
“That tells me a lot about this team.”
Duff hit 1 of 2 free throws with 19.4 seconds left in regulation to put her team up 45-42, before the Patriots pulled off a miracle to tie the game.
Senior Login Richardson, who had not scored in the game, caught the ball on the left wing and launched a trey that swished through the nets and keep her team alive.
The heroine of the end of the game was Greencastle senior guard Jalyn Duff, who was scoreless for the first 29 minutes.
Duff hit 5 of 6 free throws down the stretch to help give her team a cushion, then added six more points in the extra period.
Duff established Greencastle’s refusal to fold by hitting a 3-pointer just 17 seconds into the extra period.
“I talked to Jalyn and told her they weren’t respecting her to shoot, and she needed to bury a three,” Windlan said. “She competed really well, but she was mad that she missed that free throw at the end of regulation. The two Shields kids [Ella and Mia] and Allison [Stevens] all had excellent games for us.”
Owen Valley came out of the blocks strongly, holding a 19-9 lead at the first stop.
Huntington University-bound Dazia Drake had eight points in the opening period, but was held to just six the rest of the way due to a combined defensive effort of Duff, Madison Rodgers, Mia Shields and Seelye Stoffregen.
The Tiger Cubs were still trailed 22-13 with 4:27 left in the half before making their first of two big runs on the night.
Ella Shields keyed a 7-0 run with a free throw, a basket on an assist by Duff, a basket by Mia Shields and a putback by Ella Shields after her sister missed a free throw.
The Patriots held a 24-23 halftime lead, and were able to limit the Tiger Cubs to just six third-quarter points in taking a 34-29 lead at the final stop.
The Tiger Cubs were still floundering offensively midway through the final period, trailing 40-31 with 5:11 left in the half.
The Cubs then took off on an 11-0 run. Ella Shields stepped out from her post position to drill a pair of 3-pointers, and her sister Mia followed with another one to tie the game at 40-40 with 3:35 left.
Duff hit a pair of free throws with 3:05 left to put her team up 42-40, and Owen Valley missed a pair of free throws with 20.4 seconds left while still trailing by two.
Duff got the rebound, was fouled and hit one free throw prior to Richardson’s game-tying trey.
Following Duff’s trey to open the overtime, Stevens drove coast to coast for a layup and then scored on an assist from Duff to make it 52-45 with 1:52 left.
After an OV basket, Mia Shields hit a hoop, Duff hit two more free throws and Stevens hit one free throw to put the Cubs up by 10 with less than a minute to play.
Ella Shields led the Cubs with a career-high 19 points, while Stevens added 16, Duff had 11 and Mia Shields had nine.
The Tiger Cubs hit 15 of 26 free throws, which dwarfed OV’s 1 of 8 performance, but Windlan knows that percentage must get better.
“We really defended well in the second half,” Windlan said. “We defended well from the second quarter on. We have to be better at the free throw line, though. We are better shooters than that.”
The Cubs will take their 3-0 record into a Saturday afternoon home game with defending sectional champion Benton Central.
Greencastle avenged its Western Indiana Conference loss with the win over OV, and will look to do a similar thing on Saturday.
“I tell my teams if we make more free throws than the other team shoots, and win the rebound battle, that it’s hard to lose,” he said. “That’s something we need to continue to do. We’re glad to have three days of practice before playing Benton Central to work on some things.”
OWEN VALLEY (50) — Drake 6-14 0-1 14, Farris 1-3 0-2 2, Herrington 6-16 0-0 14, L.Richardson 1-5 0-0 2, Comte 6-12 0-3 12, K.Richardson 2-5 0-0 4, Miller 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 22-54 FG, 1-8 FT, 50 TP
GREENCASTLE (60) — Duff 1-5 8-11 11, Stevens 7-12 2-5 16, E.Shields 8-9 1-3 19, Stoffregen 1-3 3-4 5, Rodgers 0-3 0-0 0, M.Shields 3-9 1-3 9, Shuee 0-2 0-0 0, Doan 0-1 0-0 0, Ray 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-43 FG, 15-26 FT, 60 TP
| Owen Valley | 19 | 5 | 10 | 11 | 5 | — | 50 |
| Greencastle | 9 | 14 | 6 | 16 | 15 | — | 60 |
3-point shooting — OV 5-22 (Drake 2-8, Herrington 2-7, L.Richardson 1-2, K.Richardson 0-2), Greencastle 5-14 (Duff 1-2, Stoffregen 0-1, Rodgers 0-1, M.Shields 2-5, E.Shields 2-3). Turnovers — Owen Valley 17, Greencastle 12.