Tiger Cubs tripped up by Cadets

For The BannerGraphic

CLAYTON -- Usually when you hold a varsity basketball team to 15 second-half points, victory ensues. That, however, was not the case for Greencastle Friday evening as their hard luck 2007 campaign registered another loss, 44-37 to WCC foe Cascade.

Despite attempting 17 more shots than the Cadets, and outscoring Cascade from the field, the Lady Cubs were unable to overcome a sizeable first quarter deficit which found Greencastle trailing 17-8. The Tiger Cubs didn't register their first points until the 2:59 mark of the opening period, when Grace Fisher scored in transition.

Cascade was able to find holes in Greencastle's match-up defense early, either by going over the top to connect with freshman post player Alex Morgan, or by finding sharp-shooting Kate Miller in the corner, who drained two threes to give the Cadets a lead that they were never to relinquish.

The Tiger Cubs were able to hang with Cascade in the second quarter, thanks to Fisher's consistent play, and trailed 29-18 at the intermission. There were, however, many offensive transition opportunities brought about by several Cadet turnovers that Greencastle was unable to take advantage of.

The third quarter saw the Cubs get themselves in a position to mount a comeback, as they narrowed the Cascade lead to 35-29. Fisher scored 7 of her game-high 15 points in a quarter characterized by sloppy play by the Cadets, who turned the ball over on seven of their 14 possessions.

In the final stanza, the game was won at the charity stripe, as the Cadets were able to convert on seven of eight free throws. Cascade held a sizeable edge at the line, going 13-18 for the game, while the Tiger Cubs were unable to convert on any of their three attempts. Greencastle was able to narrow the Cadet lead to four, 35-31, with six minutes remaining, but could get no closer.

Miller led the Cadets in scoring with 13 points and Morgan chipped in eight. Lauren Robertson, Kelsey Hennette, and Becky Grivas each scored six in the losing effort, which dropped the Tiger Cubs to 1-16, 0-4 in the WCC. Cascade improved to 9-7 and 4-1 in the conference.

Greencastle coach Glenn Hile didn't attribute the tough loss to a lack of effort.

"I thought our kids played hard," said Hile. "When we get the kind of consistent effort that we're getting from our kids, despite the kind of season we're having, it's a real credit to their character."

Greencastle visits Turkey Run Saturday at 2:30 p.m.

At Clayton

Greencastle 37

Cascade 44

Greencastle (37) -- Fisher 7-17, 0-1, 17 Robertson 3-13, 0-0, 6 Miller 0-1, 0-2, 0 Hennette 3-3, 0-0, 6 Alspaugh 1-6, 0-0, 2 Grivas 3-5, 0-0, 6. TEAM 17-45 FG, 0-3 FT

3pt FG 1-10 (Fisher). Rebounds 18 (Robertson 5). Turnovers 19 (Fisher 5). Assists 6 (Robertson 3). Fouls 18.

Next Game -- The Tiger Cubs face Turkey Run today.