Eagles keep strong 2024 going with win over Bulldogs

South Putnam's Lyla Rissler gets past a defender and eventually draws a foul to go to the line during Wednesday's outing at Monrovia. Rissler was one of three Eagles in double figures with 15 points, helping the visitors to a 58-51 win over the Bulldogs.

Banner Graphic/TRENT SCOTT

MONROVIA – Outside of its loss to Northview, South Putnam’s offense has been hot since the turn of the calendar to 2024, scoring 50 or more points in three of its first four girls’ basketball games.

That run extended Wednesday night, when the Eagles started off hot against Monrovia and withstood a pair of runs in the second and third quarters to pick up their third win in the last five games with a 58-51 victory over the Bulldogs.

“In the first half, especially, the speed of the game was good and we were shooting the ball well early,” South Putnam head coach Brian Gardner said. “We’ve been shooting the ball well since Christmas Break.

“(Monrovia) is really good at straight line drives, something we talked about before the game and again at halftime. We needed to keep them in front of us, not overextend and we did a better job of stepping over to help and not stay out on the three-point line.

“Offensively, we did a good job of, when they had a player come to help, we found the backdoor pass to lead to openings for us,” Gardner added. “Those are things we’ve been working on and tonight, the girls were in rhythm, ready to shoot and you have to credit them for that.”

Monrovia, celebrating senior night, had all four of its seniors on the floor to start the game and South Putnam as Danae Cline hit an early long-range jumper and was the last of three Eagles to notch a three in the early going alongside Chlara Pistelli and Drew Gardner.

After the Bulldogs began to rotate their regular lineup into the game, the hosts clawed back the deficit as Ruby Murrell hit a runner, Mary Cox added two free throws and Emery Newlin scored at the rim to make it 11-8.

South answered back as Mia Wells hit two free throws and added a jumper and Lyla Rissler added two more free throws to stretch the lead back out to 17-8.

Monrovia finished the first quarter by cranking its press into gear as Murrell scored another runner while Newlin scored twice off steals to make it 17-14 after a quarter of play.

After a trade of baskets, South Putnam pushed the lead back out to six at 22-16 and 24-18 following jumpers from Rissler and Madison Gardner but the Bulldog press continued to bite hard with a 7-0 run that gave the hosts their only lead of the night.

Murrell hit a tough jumper to start with Newlin getting a basket and a free throw off steals before Cox scored off another steal to nudge ahead 25-24.

The Eagles would take a slender lead into halftime, though, as Madison Gardner scored in the post and Cline added a late free throw to make it 27-25 at the break.

Beaten handily on the offensive glass in the first half, South Putnam started far stronger on the boards in the third quarter, snagging six offensive boards in the first few possessions, leading to a quick 8-0 start to the half.

Pistelli scored twice on putbacks, the second a three-point play, before snagging another offensive board that led to a Rissler three and a 35-25 lead.

“To be honest, we just needed to slow down,” Gardner said about being able to get past the hosts’ press to start the second half. “We were inbounding really quick and not getting into our offensive press break stuff.

“In the second half, we finally did that and that allowed us the openings. We were cutting to the right spots instead of panicking, which was a big thing because going into sectional play, we have to get better at that.

“(Monrovia) is really good and active in what they do, so we did a good job of getting past that,” Gardner added. “Danae and Chlara both did well handling against the pressure and that’s what you need from our junior leaders.”

Monrovia answered back strong as Murrell scored on the inside, Newlin scored three points off steals and Cox added a pair of layups as part of a 9-0 run to close the gap to 35-34.

The Eagles countered with a trio of long balls as Rissler broke a 1-for-7 start from beyond the arc for the visitors to start the second half before Drew Gardner hit two of the next three from deep to push the lead back out to 10 points again, a gap that would hold going into the fourth quarter at 46-36.

“One of the biggest things for us lately is that when teams have made runs, we’ve countered those runs instead of letting those go longer,” Gardner said about the response after the lead shrank to one point. “Part of that was we got into some spots offensively and ran some sets from those spots.

“The girls did a good job of executing those plays and attacked instead of settling for things.”

Newlin and Madison Gardner traded early baskets before Rissler hit a three and Cline scored off a steal to make it a 14-point game at 53-39, the largest advantage of the night for South Putnam.

Newlin kept plugging away, getting Madison Gardner into foul trouble in the process, with six late points, while two Cox free throws and a putback from Trinity Inglert shrank the gap down to six at 55-49.

The Bulldogs would get no closer, however, as the visitors added late free throws from Cline and Rissler to keep the hosts at bay and record their third win in five games to start 2024.

Newlin led all scorers with 24 points but Monrovia only had one other double-digit scorer in Cox with 13 points.

Rissler led South Putnam with 15 points while Pistelli had 11 points and Cline added 10 points while Drew Gardner and Madison Gardner were just outside double figures with nine and eight points respectively.

Scoring

South Putnam (10-24 2FG; 8-25 3FG; 14-21 FT) — Rissler 15, Pistelli 11, Cline 10, D. Gardner 9, M. Gardner 8, Wells 5

Monrovia (22-47 2FG; 0-11 3FG; 7-16 FT) — Newlin 24, Cox 13, Murrell 8, Tallent 2, Vaughn 2, Inglert 2

Statistics