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North Putnam offensive struggles hamper strong defensive effort in loss
North Putnam used a tough defensive effort to limit Greencastle to 22 first-half points in the second game of the Putnam County girls’ basketball tournament at South Putnam on Friday night.
Thirteen turnovers limited the number of scoring opportunities the Cougars had, however, and the Tiger Cubs used a big second half to break open a tight game and record a deceiving 56-24 victory.
Greencastle will play Cloverdale, a 59-54 winner over South Putnam in the opener, at 7:30 p.m. today in the championship game. The Tiger Cubs will be seeking their fifth straight county title, and first under coach Tod Windlan.
The Cougars will meet South Putnam in the consolation game at 6 p.m., and — along with Greencastle — will be playing on back-to-back nights for the first time this year.
North Putnam coach Jarrod Duff was not happy his team was unable to pull off what most people would have considered an upset, but he was thrilled with the intensity with which his team played from start to finish.
“We knew it was going to take that kind of effort to be in the game,” he said. “The way we defended in the first half was outstanding. Our effort on the defensive end was great, and that’s how we have to play — that’s what I want our program to be known for.
“We just have to figure out some things on the offensive end.”
Greencastle jumped out to a 7-2 lead, getting points from three different players. North Putnam did not get on the scoreboard until 47 seconds left in the period, hampered by 11 first-period turnovers, as Baylee Osburn stole a pass and converted it into a layup.
Greencastle’s Bailey Shuee hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Tiger Cubs a 10-2 lead at the first stop, despite being forced into nine turnovers.
“I don’t think we ran one offensive scheme that we have in the first quarter with all five people on the same page,” Windlan said. “I don’t know if it was the hype of the game or what. Our first half was a poor first half for us.
“North Putnam pressured us really well, and we didn’t respond to it very well,” he added. “Our bigs have to stay out of foul trouble. They have problems every game. They are not being in the right position defensively, they try to recover and leave their feet.
“In girls’ basketball, if you leave your feet you’re going to foul.”
The Cougars put forth a strong effort to open the second quarter, as Brie Miller hit a free throw and scored on a putback followed by two Hannah Sims free throws. That 5-0 flurry cut the Greencastle lead to 10-7 with 3:09 left in the half.
“They were stuck on 10 points for a long time,” Duff noted, as the Cubs did not hit their first basket of the second quarter until 2:52 left.
The Tiger Cubs dominated the rest of the second quarter, however, outscoring North Putnam 12-2 in the final three minutes.
Jalyn Duff and Mia Shields accounted for all of those points, with Duff hitting a putback and two free throws while Shields had a basket, a basket plus a free throw and a 3-pointer to put Greencastle up 22-9 at the half.
Greencastle broke things open in the third quarter, scoring the first 11 points on two from Shuee, five from Allison Stevens and two from Duff.
The 6-foot Stevens caused the Cougars numerous problems as the top player on the Greencastle zone press, and had nine of her team-high 13 points in the period.
“Having Alli on the front of the press really turned the tide, and she had a good start to the second half,” he said. “We were able to build the lead pretty fast.”
North Putnam hit only eight of 41 field-goal attempts, and was outscored 34-15 in the second half as the Cubs were able to avoid further foul trouble and had their full complement of weapons.
“We’ll figure our offense out,” Duff said. “I think we’ll get better. If we defend people like that, we’ll be in games. I was proud of them for that.”
Mia Shields added 12 points and Duff 11 for the Tiger Cubs, who improved to 5-1.
Dana Tennis led North Putnam with eight points.
The Cougars will meet the Eagles on their shiny new homecourt tonight, and Duff thinks his team will be ready.
“One of the things we talked about coming into this weekend is that we want to earn respect,” he said. “I don’t feel like a lot of people respect us. I was honest with them and asked if we had earned respect.
“I don’t think we have yet, but I think it’s coming,” Duff added. “We need to go out and earn respect, and I think we took steps toward that. [Tonight] is another chance to come out and earn more respect.”
Windlan got to see Cloverdale play for the first time on Friday night, and was impressed.
“They are really a good team,” he said. “[Sammie] Shrum and [Tori] Combs are a good 1-2 combo, and if their other kids can knock down shots they are a good basketball team. They play hard, and I expect a really tough, hard-fought game.
“I want our kids to come and compete for 32 minutes and see what happens.”
GREENCASTLE (56) — Stevens 6-7 1-2 13, Duff 2-3 7-98 11, Stoffregen 0-1 0-2 0, Shuee 3-8 0-0 7, M.Shields 4-12 2-3 12, Rodgers 1-5 0-0 2, Ray 1-3 0-0 2, Doan 0-0 1-2 1, E.Shields 3-5 0-2 6, Trigg 1-2 0-0 2, Zellers 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 21-48 FG, 11-19 FT, 56 TP
NORTH PUTNAM (24) — Willis 2-7 0-1 4, Sims 0-7 2-2 2, Miller 1-5 4-9 6, Lyons 0-1 0-0 0, Osburn 1-4 0-0 2, Tennis 3-9 0-0 8, Young 1-5 0-0 2, Gibson 0-1 0-0 0, Day 0-1 0-2 0, Gierke 0-1 0-0 0, Pace 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 8-41 FG, 6-13 FT, 24 TP
| Greencastle | 10 | 12 | 18 | 16 | — | 56 |
| North Putnam | 2 | 7 | 8 | 7 | — | 24 |
3-point shooting — Greencastle 3-15 (Shuee 1-5, M.Shields 2-7, Rodgers 0-1, Zellers 0-1, Stoffregen 0-1), North Putnam 2-8 (Sims 0-1, Lyons 0-1, Tennis 2-5, Willis 0-1). Turnovers — Greencastle 14, North Putnam 19.