Clovers eliminate Cougars in double OT

Tuesday, February 4, 2020
Hailey Thomas looks to pass to a teammate Tuesday night. The Cloverdale senior did a lot to keep her season alive Tuesday, helping put the game away with her free throw shooting.
Banner Graphic/Jared Jernagan

Sometimes basketball can be a beautiful, flowing work of art.

Sometimes it is not.

Tuesday night’s Class 2A Sectional 44 girls’ basketball opener between the North Putnam Cougars and the Cloverdale Clovers was not, but it was one of the most competitive, hard-fought game you could find. The Clovers outlasted the Cougars 56-48 in double overtime to advance to Friday night’s semifinal game against South Putnam.

North Putnam sophomore Kyla Willis drives past Arianna McCracken in the fourth quarter with her eyes on two of her game-high 16 points Tuesday evening.
Banner Graphic/Jared Jernagan

“Our girls were excited about going into the new season (tournament) at 0-0. We haven’t had the record we wanted but we started 0-0 and we advanced. It was tough,” Cloverdale head coach Matthew Langdon said.

Cloverdale was able to advance on the strength of its free throw shooting. The Clovers hit 17-of-22 from the line including 10-of-12 in the two overtime periods to outlast Cougars.

This was the third matchup between the squads this season as the Clovers defeated the Cougars 27-26 in the Putnam County tournament and North avenged that loss later in the year with a 59-51 victory.

The game was an offensive struggle from the start and continued most of the game. The two teams combined to shoot 34-of-129 from the field for only 26 percent. The game should have been sponsored by the International Union of Bricklayers.

“It has been the story of our season. The girls’ do everything I ask them to do. They move the ball, they get good shots. It just seems like the rim has a lid on it. We couldn’t get anything to fall,” North Putnam head coach Lukas Hayworth said.

The first quarter was typical of the entire game in regulation. Both teams missed several shots from point-blank range and maybe the nerves or intensity of the sectional got to them, because they also combined to turn the ball over 14 times. Offense was in short supply.

Cloverdale started to stretch the lead early in the second quarter as Kassie Wade nailed a pair of treys early in the quarter to help spark the Clovers to a 16-9 lead and seemed poised to take control, but Kyla Willis had other ideas. The sophomore Cougar point guard scored nine points in the quarter as North finished the half on a 9-0 run to take an 18-16 lead into the locker room.

“It was big for Kassie to hit those three-pointers early in the game. We really needed that. She has had to overcome a lot this year and that was big,” Langdon said.

“Kyla really had some moments for us tonight. She had a really good run in the first half,” Hayworth said.

The third quarter was really about punch and counterpunch. The two teams had four ties and four lead changes in the period. Brie Miller was able to get loose in the paint for the Cougars and provide six points for North, while Arianna McCracken matched her total and the Clovers reclaimed the lead, 29-26 at the end of three periods.

“Both teams really played hard, we just couldn’t get enough going to get much of a lead, but defensively we kept them from really getting much either,” Hayworth said.

The teams continued playing evenly in the fourth quarter. Neither team could stretch a lead. Cloverdale led 37-34 late in regulation when Dana Tennis nailed a three-pointer for the Cougars and tied the game. The Clovers got the ball back with :45 left and the score tied. They held the ball for the last shot, but the possession ended without a good look and sent the game to overtime. The Clovers didn’t get the win in regulation, but the last possession was key according to Langdon.

“That last possession of regulation was big for us. We didn’t get a shot that we liked, but we were patient and took care of the basketball. It really gave our girls a lot of confidence. They felt after that they could win this game,” Langdon said.

The first overtime saw both teams trade the lead four times. The Cougars led 41-39 with about two minutes to go when Wade nailed her fourth trey of the game to give Cloverdale a 42-41 lead. Hannah Sims immediately answered with a driving layup and after both teams scored the remainder of the points from the foul line, the game went into the second overtime tied at 44-44.

“Hannah really gave us a boost in that overtime, she had some really good moments,” Hayworth said.

Sims and Madison Shoemaker traded baskets early in the second installment of bonus basketball, then Cloverdale took control. The Cougars couldn’t get shots to go down and the Clovers began a parade to the free throw line. They knocked down all six of their attempts, with Hailey Thomas scoring six of the team’s eight points in the final few minutes. Cloverdale was able to preserve the victory and advance.

“Hailey played with a lot of confidence. She just kind of took the ball and said get out of the way, I can beat this press,” Langdon said.

North was led in scoring by Willis with 16 points. The diminutive guard also led all players with 13 rebounds. Brie Miller had her own double-double with 11 points and 11 caroms, while Sims scored 11 points with nine of them coming in the fourth quarter and overtime.

“I am so very proud of this team. The kids are disappointed, but years from now we may look back on this game and feel that was when North Putnam basketball turned it around,” Hayworth said as the Cougars finished their season at 11-13.

Cloverdale’s Wade had 15 points and McCracken had 14 for the Clovers.

“We are excited to be able to play Friday night,” Langdon said. “We have to take on what is probably the favorite, South Putnam. They have earned the right to be called the favorite because of the season they have had. We are just happy to have advanced.”

The Clovers improved to 10-15 on the year. They tip off with the Eagles at 6 p.m. Friday.

NORTH PUTNAM (48) – Tennis 1-8 0-1 3, Sims 3-11 5-10 11, Willis 7-22 2-3 16, Miller 3-12 5-10 11, Osburn 2-8 0-0 5, Gibson 1-1 0-0 2, Christy 0-0 0-0 0, Davies 0-4, 0-0 0. Totals 17-67 FG, 12-24 FT, 48 TP.

CLOVERDALE (56) – McCracken 3-11 8-10 14, Shrum 1-15 0-0 3, Wade 5-14 1-2 15, Carter 2-4 0-0 4, Thomas 1-8 6-6 8, Lewellen 1-3 2-3 4, Shoemaker 4-7 0-1 8, Monnett 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-62 FG, 17-22 FT, 56 TP.

North Putnam 5 13 8 7 7 4 – 48

Cloverdale 8 8 13 8 7 12 – 56

3-point shooting – NP 2-16 (Tennis 1-7, Sims 0-3, Willis 0-2, Osburn 1-2, Davies 0-2) CHS 5-26 (McCracken 0-1, Shrum 1-11, Wade 4-11, Thomas 0-2, Lewellen 0-1). Rebounds – NP 53 (Tennis 4, Sims 5, Willis 13, Miller 11, Osburn 9, Gibson 3, Christy 2, Davies 1) CHS – 55 (McCracken 9, Shrum 8, Wade 6, Carter 4, Thomas 12, Shoemaker 7, Monnett 1) FG Pct. – NP 25.4, CHS 27.4. FT Pct. – NP 50.0, CHS 77.3. Turnovers – NP 20, CHS 21.

Girls’ sectional pairings

CLASS 3A SECTIONAL 25

At Danville

Tuesday

North Montgomery 36, Frankfort 34

Today

6 p.m. — Crawfordsville (5-16) vs. Danville (17-5)

7:30 p.m. — Monrovia (8-14) vs. Tri-West (17-5)

Friday

6 p.m. — Greencastle (10-12) vs. North Montgomery (10-12) in semifinals

7:30 p.m. — Wednesday’s winners in semifinals

Saturday

7:30 p.m. — Friday’s winners in championship

(Champion advances

to Greencastle Regional)

CLASS 2A SECTIONAL 44

At Cloverdale

Tuesday

Cloverdale 56, North Putnam 48, 2 OT

Parke Heritage 62, Riverton Parke 32

Friday

6 p.m. — South Putnam (16-6) vs. Cloverdale (10-15) in semifinals

7:30 p.m. — Southmont (13-8) vs. Parke Heritage (11-14) in semifinals

Saturday

7:30 p.m. — Friday’s winners in championship

(Champion advances

to Southmont Regional)