SOUTH PUTNAM GIRLS' BASKETBALL SECTIONAL FINAL: Wolves reach the summit, take down defending champion Tiger Cubs 43-32

Emblematic of the struggles on the night, Greencastle's Bailey Brown tries to find somewhere to move the ball while being sandwiched by Parke Heritage defenders during Saturday's IHSAA Girls' Basketball Class 2A Sectional No. 44 final. The Wolves won the rematch of the last year' sectional final 43-32 over the Tiger Cubs.

Banner Graphic/TRENT SCOTT

For the first few minutes of Saturday’s IHSAA Girls’ Basketball Class 2A Sectional No. 44 final, Greencastle showed off some of its best basketball of the season in taking an early lead over No. 13 Parke Heritage.

The Wolves, coming in off the back of a hard-fought win over Southmont on Friday, steadied themselves late in the first quarter and outscored the Tiger Cubs 23-5 across the rest of the first half and won a defensive second half to claim the school’s first sectional title since forming in a 43-32 win.

“I’m so proud of the girls,” Greencastle head coach Jessica Lenihan said. “The girls came in saying (Parke Heritage) was so much better than them but it didn’t show out here tonight. The girls held their own.

“We played a great first quarter. The shots were falling and the girls played good defense. We went with a box-and-one on Emma (Simpson), which really helped.

“Our goal was to keep the scoring low tonight, which we did,” Lenihan added. “The girls never gave up, kept trying and that’s all I could ask for from them in a sectional championship game.”

The rematch of the 2022-23 final started off heavily in Greencastle’s favor with Ali Dobbs scoring the game’s first two points from the line and Aleeyah Johnson answering a three from Addilee Jenkins with a jumper.

Evie Briones and Madi Plew hit consecutive threes and Bailey Brown scored in the post for a 12-3 advantage late in the period.

Parke Heritage, despite several offensive rebounds, struggled heavily to get shots to fall, going 2-of-18 from the field in the first eight minutes.

Cate O’Brien scored late in the quarter for the Wolves, setting the score at 12-5, but also picked up her third foul with 16 seconds remaining.

Parke Heritage picked up its defensive intensity in the second quarter, shifting to a three-quarter zone press that caught Greencastle flatfooted early on and led to several easy baskets.

The entrance of Reaghan Benjamin for O’Brien caused additional problems as the Tiger Cubs struggled to deal with the senior center’s physicality on the boards.

The combination allowed the Wolves to score 13 unanswered points to take a 16-12 lead before Briones scored off a steal midway through the second quarter.

Emma Simpson scored on a putback and Addison Jenkins hit a three before Plew answered with her second three of the night to make it 21-17 but Simpson scored again and Andrea Perkins hit a late three to make it 26-17 at halftime.

“(Benjamin) did cause us problems for sure,” Lenihan said about the rebounding woes in the second quarter. “With her size and strength, we couldn’t get her off the boards for a while.

“We still posted up and tried our best down there but we did our best to work around it.”

Both teams opted for a more defensive strategy to start the second half, leading to several steals and turnovers both directions before Addison Jenkins knocked down a pair of free throws and Simpson scored on a putback.

Dobbs hit a three midway through the period to get Greencastle on the board before Brown scored to bring the lead down to 30-22.

Points were few and far between as the lead stayed around eight points the rest of the quarter, leaving Parke Heritage eight minutes to hold to a 35-27 lead.

O’Brien scored to start the final period with Briones hitting a three in reply to make it 37-30.

Tired legs were taking hold, however, as the Tiger Cubs began to force shots on offense after chasing the Wolves on defense, leading to a 2-for-12 shooting period.

Parke Heritage was able to play keep away across the final few minutes, icing the game from the free throw line to lift the school’s first sectional title since 2018 under the Rockville banner.

The Wolves will face No. 3 Eastern Hancock at Southmont. The Tiger Cubs finished their season 12-14, reaching a sectional final for a second year in a row.

“The growth I’ve seen this year has been amazing from the start to the end,” Lenihan said about the team’s maturation. “We’ve always focused the game on defense because we knew losing so many points from last year was going to be a struggle.

“We started on the defensive side of the floor and I’m telling you what, we’ve had several people step up on the offensive end, not just Evie but Ali, Madi, Aleeyah and Bailey all stepped up. Sarah has played great in the second half of games as a freshman coming in.

“We’re a whole different team from the beginning to now and so proud of how hard they worked to get where they are today.”

Scoring

Greencastle (6-22 2FG; 6-15 3FG; 2-9 FT) — Briones 11, Plew 6, Brown 6, Dobbs 5, Johnson 2, Simmerman 2

Parke Heritage (11-30 2FG; 5-21 3FG; 6-8 FT) — Addilee Jenkins 10, Simpson 10, Benjamin 6, O’Brien 6, Perkins 6, Addison Jenkins 5

Statistics