Cubs own worst enemy in 74-67 loss to Tri-West

Tuesday, November 27, 2018
Tri-West senior Carli Wilson shoots over Claire Gillen of Greencastle in Tuesday night action.
Banner Graphic/JOEY BENNETT

By Joey Bennett

Sports Editor

LIZTON — Self-inflicted wounds. Unforced errors. Pick your own metaphor.

Greencastle’s 25 turnovers and inability to corral missed shots on Tuesday night cost the Tiger Cubs a game they had a chance to win, a 74-67 loss to Tri-West.

Despite nine first-quarter turnovers, Greencastle trailed 17-16 at the first stop. Seelye Stoffregen had five points to pace the Cubs.

Senior center Claire Gillen, making her first appearance of the season after missing time due to a sprained ankle, scored with 4:38 left in the second quarter to tie the game at 23-23.

The Bruins scored six straight points and took a 29-24 lead into halftime.

Greencastle coach Tod Windlan lamented his team’s rebounding, which saw the smaller but more aggressive Bruins to get multiple shots on the same possession numerous times throughout the game.

“We just don’t have tough kids,” he said. “Rebounding is not about size, it’s about toughness. We get outrebounded, we shoot 50 percent from the foul line and 33 percent from the 3-point line.

“We need to pound the ball inside, and we shoot 18 3-pointers,” he added. “The scouting report clearly indicated which two players we needed to stop, and we gave them 41 points.”

Greencastle’s Allison Stevens had another bout with foul trouble, picking up her third foul with 1:49 left in the first half.

Jalyn Duff hit back-to-back treys in the third period to help keep the Tiger Cubs close, but Tri-West pulled away slightly to lead 43-37 at the final stop.

The Tiger Cubs made their strongest run of the night to open the final period.

A Mia Shields trey, followed by a Stoffregen basket, brought Greencastle within 43-42 with 6:37 to play.

A basket plus a free throw by Stevens tied the game at 45-45 a minute later, before Tri-West standout Maggie Cora — the state’s ninth-leading scorer — hit a basket and a trey for a 50-45 lead.

Duff followed with another trey to cut the deficit to two, and Greencastle soon took its only lead after the first quarter.

Duff hit a free throw with 4:08 left and missed the second attempt, but Stevens picked up the rebound and scored to give Greencastle a 51-50 lead.

That lead lasted 13 seconds, as freshman Adrie Thompson hit a basket followed by another Cora trey to put Tri-West up 55-51 with 2:48 left. Shields barely missed stealing the inbounds pass headed toward Cora on that play, and the standout senior converted the shot.

The Cubs weren’t done yet, though. Shields hit a pair of free throws and Duff scored on a coast-to-coast layup to tie the game against 55-55 with 2;25 left.

Freshman Kenna Kirby hit a trey and Cora followed with an other basket to give the Bruins a 5-point lead again.

Ella Shields scored on a putback with 1:25 left to make it 60-57, but the Cubs were done scoring.

Duff led the Cubs with 15 points, while Stoffregen added 12.

GREENCASTLE (57) — E.Shields 3-7 0-2 6, Stevens 4-10 1-1 9, Shuee 1-3 1-2 3, Stoffregen 5-9 1-2 12, Duff 5-10 1-3 15, Gillen 2-5 3-6 7, Rodgers 0-1 0-0 0, M.Shields 1-3 2-2 5. Totals 21-48 FG, 9-18 FT, 57 TP

TRI-WEST (64) — Cora 9-18 5-8 27, Kirby 6-15 2-2 14, Waling 3-6 0-2 6, Wilson 3-9 4-4 11, Sandlin 0-1 0-0 0, Ross 1-1 0-0 2, Thompson 1-4 0-0 2, Grubbs 0-0 0-0 0, Starnes 0-0 2-2 2. Totals 22-57 FG, 13-18 FT, 64 TP

Greencastle168132057
Tri-West1712142164

3-point shooting — Greencastle 6-17 (Shuee 0-2, Stoffregen 1-4, Duff 4-7, Rodgers 0-1, M.Shields 1-3), Tri-West 7-23 (Cora 4-7, Kirby 2-4, Walling 0-1, Wilson 1-7, Sandlin 0-2, Thompson 0-2). Turnovers — Greencastle 25, Tri-West 15.