Girls’ sectionals reach semifinal round tonight

Friday, February 7, 2020

Three Putnam County teams remain alive tonight in the semifinal round of the Indiana High School Athletic Association girls’ basketball state tournament.

At Cloverdale

Cloverdale won a double-overtime thriller over North Putnam on Tuesday to open its own sectional, and meets South Putnam at 6 p.m. today in the first semifinal game.

Southmont battles Parke Heritage in the second game, with the winner meeting the winner of the first game in Saturday night’s championship game.

South Putnam will be seeking its third sectional title in the past four years, while Cloverdale is looking to pick up its first ever in girls’ basketball.

The Eagles bring the best record into the tourney at 16-6, but one of those six losses came to Cloverdale in the Putnam County tournament in November by a 42-36 score.

South lost two of its last three games entering the sectional, after having won 10 of its previous 11. Two of its losses came to Western Indiana Conference champion Brown County, and another to No. 2-ranked University.

South Putnam started the season 5-3 before going on its successful 11-game stretch.

Cloverdale went on to defeat North Putnam in the county tourney finals to defend its title of a year ago, but then hit a tough stretch — losing eight straight games and 10 of its next 11 before bouncing back to win three games in January to get back on track.

The Clovers lost senior post player Lakkain Price to injury in January, but sophomore Veronica Carter has filled in well for Price.

Ohio Christian signee Sammie Shrum, who passed the 1,000-point career mark earlier this season, leads the Clovers with 9.8 points per game. Senior guard Hailey Thomas adds 6.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.

South Putnam defeated Cloverdale 54-39 in the second game of the season for both teams, making tonight the rubber game of the season series.

At Danville

Greencastle is one of the hottest teams in the state entering tourney play, drawing a first-round bye and meeting North Montgomery in tonight’s first semifinal game.

Greencastle started the season 2-11 under first-year head coach Kellie Kirkhoff, but as the team became healthier and began to better understand Kirkhoff’s system the Tiger Cubs thrived once the calendar turned over to 2020.

The Tiger Cubs went 8-1 in January, sandwiching a pair of four-game winning streaks around their only loss (a 50-35 defeat at North Putnam).

Senior post player Allison Stevens, the only county player to be listed on the ballot for the Indiana All-Star team, has been a dominating force underneath in averaging 16.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game.

Junior Sydney Doan adds 7.8 points per game as well as 6.1 rebounds.

Greencastle hosted North Montgomery on Jan. 14, and recorded a 62-41 victory. North Montgomery had lost eight straight games until beating Frankfort 36-34 in first-round action on Tuesday.

The second game features the teams with the best records in the field, as Danville and Tri-West (both 18-5) will play for the second time this year.

Danville got a 64-37 blowout victory in late November.

The Warriors are led by Marian University signee Ella Collier, the leading scorer in Hendricks County history for both genders.

Girls’ basketball sectional schedules

CLASS 3A SECTIONAL 25

At Danville

Tuesday

North Montgomery 36, Frankfort 34

Wednesday

Danville 68, Crawfordsville 12

Tri-West 58, Monrovia 42

Today

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

7:30 p.m. — Danville (18-5) vs. Tri-West (18-5) 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

Today

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)

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