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Cloverdale holds off late Eagle rally for win
The Cloverdale Clovers used a big third quarter and then held off a furious fourth-quarter South Putnam Eagle rally Friday night to win the opening game of the Girls’ Putnam County Classic, 59-54.
“Particularly in the second half, we were able to do some things well defensively,” Cloverdale coach Matthew Langdon said as his team improved to 5-1 and will take on Greencastle in the championship game tonight. “Sometimes you overhype the county tourney and we wanted to take it one game at a time.”
Friday marked the second time in the first two weeks of the season the two teams had played each other. Cloverdale won the season opener for both teams 65-44 back on Oct. 30. This time, the Eagles played the Clovers tough.
“I thought we were a different team than when we played them earlier. We collectively are a better team now,” South Putnam head coach Brian Gardner said.
The Eagles fell to 1-3 on the season and will be matched up against North Putnam in the 6 p.m. consolation game tonight at SPHS.
The Clovers took advantage of numerous Eagle turnovers to put up an astounding 61 shots on the night. Cloverdale struggled to hit them as it went 16-of-61 from the floor, while the Eagles shot the ball at a better clip, hitting 18-of-41, but had limited chances as they turned the ball over 26 times, including 19 in the second and third quarters.
“I thought coming into the game we needed to control tempo, limit turnovers, and stop them on the offensive boards,” Gardner said. “We did that at times, but the turnovers kind of got us again tonight.”
South got off to a good start as it jumped out to a 14-6 first-quarter lead behind eight points from Alex Bratcher and six from Macie Bumgardner. Cloverdale struggled to make shots, missing 16 of its 20 shot attempts in the quarter but did score the last seven points of the period to close the gap to 14-13 at the end of the first quarter.
Kassie Wade hit two long treys in the quarter, including one to beat the buzzer to pull the Clovers within one.
“We didn’t come out and play very well early,” Langdon said. “Once we settled down, we did some good things. This will be one that we will watch the film and really have to look at we did well and what we didn’t.”
The two teams battled evenly in the second period, but the turnovers began to get the best of the Eagles.
Cloverdale was able to take the lead as it forced South into nine miscues in the quarter and was able to take the lead and finish the quarter with another buzzer beater, this time Sammie Shrum getting a bucket to end the quarter to give the Clovers the lead at the break 27-25.
“There were just some plays that got the best of us. We give up five points at the buzzer tonight and we lose by five, so there you go,” Gardner said.
Cloverdale seemed to take control after the half. The full-court press forced the Eagles into 10 more turnovers in the third quarter as they only got seven shots up. Cloverdale, meanwhile, found its rhythm offensively, closing the quarter with a 14-1 run to take what seemed to be a commanding 43-30 lead heading into the final stanza. South was able to score just five points in the third quarter.
“We thought we could pressure them tonight and we did, and at times it was effective,” Langdon said.
The momentum shifted quickly in the final quarter. Vanihel got the ball rolling with a three-pointer to open the scoring in the quarter. The Eagles scored the first 10 points in the period to cut the lead to 43-40.
Foul trouble for both teams began to play a factor in the game. The two teams combined to take 26 free throws in the final quarter.
“They were able to make their free throws down the stretch. We had our chances,” Gardner said.
The Eagles continued to hang around as they limited their turnovers in the final quarter to just three. They closed the gap to 56-54 but couldn’t get any closer as the Clovers were able hit some free throws and survive and advance.
“We played pretty well defensively, but we lost some of their players at times,” Langdon said.
The Eagles were led in scoring by Vanihel with 13 points, but South also placed three others in double figures for a balanced scoring night. Bratcher and Bumgardner each had 12 points, while Caitlin Capps added 11.
“That (balanced scoring) is how we are going to have play this year. We are not a team that is going to have someone scoring 20 a night. This effort shows the fight of this team. I am really proud of how we played,” Gardner said.
Wade led Cloverdale with 14 points and Combs matched her with 14. Shrum had 11 points and Hailey Thomas had nine, all from the free throw line as she went 9-of-10 from the stripe.
“It was kind of a breakout game for Kassie. She really shot the ball well. Hailey stepped up from the free throw line,” Langdon said.
The Eagles will take on North Putnam at 6 p.m. in the consolation game, while the Clovers will battle the Greencastle Tiger Cubs for the Putnam County Paddle in the championship game.
“It is great to get to the championship game,” Langdon said. “We have to take it as the next game.”
CLOVERDALE (59) – Shrum 3-18 4-6 11, Wade 4-8 2-2 14, Combs 5-18 4-11 14, Thomas 0-6 9-10 9, Price 2-6 1-2 5, Shoemaker 2-5 0-0 4, Lewellen 0-0 2-2 2. Totals 16-61 FG, 22-33 FT, 59 TP.
SOUTH PUTNAM (54) – Custis 2-8 1-2 6, Bratcher 4-6 2-2 12, Vanihel 4-11 4-11 13, Bumgardner 5-6 2-2 12, Capps 3-7 5-8 11, Egold 0-1 0-0 0, Mahoney-Sutherland 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 18-41 FG, 14-25 FT, 54 TP.
| Cloverdale | 13 | 14 | 16 | 16 | – | 59 |
| South Putnam | 14 | 11 | 5 | 24 | – | 54 |
3-point shooting – CHS 5-23 (Shrum 1-8, Wade 4-8, Combs 0-2, Thomas 0-5), SP 4-11 (Custis 1-4, Bratcher 2-3, Vanihel 1-4). Rebounds – CHS 40 (Shrum 4, Wade 1, Combs 13, Thomas 2, Price 7, Shoemaker 4, Lewellen 4) SP – 41 (Custis 4, Bratcher 1, Vanihel 8, Bumgardner 11, Capps 7, Egold 5, Mahoney-Sutherland 2) FG Pct. – CHS 26.2, SP 43.9. FT Pct. – CHS 66.7, SP 56.0. Turnovers – CHS 13, SP 26.