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South girls use late free throws to hold off Cougar girls
Consolation games are sometimes difficult to play in for high school basketball teams. The teams are disappointed that they are not playing for the title, and the game usually starts a little early for a varsity game.
Saturday night at the Putnam County Classic was no exception.
The South Putnam Eagles defeated the North Putnam Cougars 56-39 in a game marred by 48 turnovers, 33 percent field goal shooting, 40 personal fouls and 49 trips to the free throw line. The Eagles improved their record to 2-3 on the season, while the Cougars fell to 2-3 as well.
South was able to turn a four-point halftime into a 14-point lead after three quarters, then knocked down free throws to ensure the victory.
“I thought in the first half, we were back on our heels a bit. In the second half, we pushed the tempo on offense. When the ball moves and we take care of it, we get good shots,” South Putnam head coach Brian Gardner said.
The game started roughly for both squads. The Eagles turned the ball over eight times in the first quarter, while the Cougars couldn’t buy a basket. North shot just 4-of-17 in the quarter with numerous missed layups. South was able to overcome its turnovers and post an 11-9 lead at the end of the quarter.
The second quarter saw the teams reverse their first period tendencies. South couldn’t find the basket posting only one field goal, but the turnovers began limiting the Cougars. North had 11 miscues in the quarter. The Eagles were able to extend their lead to 19-15 behind six points from Lexi Vanihel.
“I told the girls at the half that I felt pretty good. We couldn’t have more things go against us. We had a bunch of travels called on us. We had foul trouble and had a bunch of missed layups, but we played with effort and I thought we were in pretty good shape,” North Putnam head coach Jarrod Duff said.
The Eagles began to separate themselves from North in the third quarter using a 10-1 run to close out the period. Chloe Custis had 10 of her 15 points in the period as the Eagle defensive pressure and rebounding advantage put the Cougars behind. South forced another six turnovers and outrebounded the Cougars 17-1 in the quarter and led comfortably, 38-24 heading into the fourth quarter.
“We gave up 21 offensive rebounds last night (against Cloverdale). I told the girls today at walk through, that we are relentless at going after the basketball, but not about hitting someone. Tonight, we did a better job of getting in front of them and blocking out,” Gardner said.
South continued to pressure the Cougars into turnovers in the final period. In addition, the Eagles calmly sank 9-of-12 free throws in the final stanza to extend its lead to the final 56-39 margin.
“It was disappointing both nights to come out and play as well as we did in the first halves, but then have a second half like we did. We played poorly in the second half, particularly defensively,” Duff said.
Hannah Sims led the way for North with 11 points and Brie Miller added 10 for the Cougars. Vanihel led all scorers with 16 points, while Custis added 15.
“Lu (Vanihel) played well tonight. Chloe Custis had a very good third quarter. Our full court pressure turned them over a little when we made our run in the third quarter,” Gardner said.
“We will just have to get back to work and try and get better,” Duff said.
Gardner sees improvement in his team.
“For us to be good, we have to limit our spurts of turnovers and inconsistency. I thought tonight we were a little better, particularly in the second half,” Gardner said.
NORTH PUTNAM (39) – Sims 2-3 7-10 11, Osburn 1-4 0-4 2, Lyons 0-2 0-0 0, Willis 2-9 0-0 4, Miller 4-9 2-2 10, Tennis 2-7 0-0 5, Young 1-2 0-0 2, Gibson 2-2 0-0 4, Day 0-0 0-0 0, Pace 0-2 1-2 1, Gierke 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 14-43 FG, 15-44 FT, 39 TP.
SOUTH PUTNAM (56) – Custis 5-9 5-5 15, Bratcher 2-8 3-4 7, Vanihel 4-10 6-6 16, Bumgardner 0-4 3-4 3, Capps 3-4 1-1 7, Egold 0-3 3-7 3, Mahoney-Sutherland 1-5 2-2 4, Steffy 0-0 0-0 0, Crewes 0-0 0-0 0, McHugh 0-1 0-0 0, Vittetow 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 15-44 FG, 24-31 FT, 56 TP.
| North Putnam | 9 | 6 | 9 | 15 | – | 39 |
| South Putnam | 11 | 8 | 19 | 18 | – | 56 |
3-point shooting – NP 1-8 (Sims 0-2, Lyons 0-2, Willis 0-1, Tennis 1-3), SP 2-12 (Custis 0-1, Bratcher 0-5, Vanihel 2-5, Egold 0-1). Rebounds – NP 23 (Sims 2, Osburn 3, Gierke 2, Lyons 1, Pace 1, Willis 3, Miller 5, Tennis 1, Young 1, Gibson 2) SP – 45 (Custis 5, Bratcher 4, Vanihel 6, McHugh 1, Bumgardner 7, Capps 4, Egold 4, Mahoney-Sutherland 6) FG Pct. – NP 32.6, SP 34.1. FT Pct. – NP 55.6, SP 77.4. Turnovers – NP 24, SP 24.