Lady Clovers bounce back against Wildcats

Monday, January 14, 2008

CLINTON -- The Cloverdale girls' basketball team didn't have much time to recover from a tough conference loss Friday evening at Cascade, as they hit the road Saturday morning to face South Vermillion.

However, the Clovers showed no signs of wear as they defeated the Wildcats 57-50.

"It was really a nice game, playing our second game in 24 hours and traveling both places," Clover coach Bruce Cook said. "I thought we played pretty well. South Vermillion had their big girl back, Phillips, she'd been out for about seven games. They'd been struggling without her."

Phillips was just one part of an amazingly balance Wildcat scoring attack that saw six players score between six and nine points.

Elizabeth Cheatham scored 23 for the Clovers, but Cook was sure to point out the performance of a player who never scores a lot, but is integral in any success his team has.

"Chelsie Haltom had seven steals on the night and did an excellent job. She handled the ball from the point, and I'm not sure she had a turnover," Cook said. "I thought she really played well for us. She distributed the ball and took care of it."

Fellow senior Ashley Koosman struggled a bit to score inside, but Cook also credited her with his team's ability to come back with a win after Friday night.

"I really think our two senior leaders in Haltom and Koosman are a big plus for us. They just set the tone and everybody calms down and leaves it up to them," Cook said.

Koosman finished the game with 10 points.

Kristin McCammon had a nice shooting performance, hitting five three pointers for 15 points. The coach liked the way his two leading scorers accented each other.

"I thought McCammon shot the ball well and had open looks on Saturday that she didn't have on Friday. She comes out with five threes. It was a big thing for us to open up the outside game and that opened the inside game up for Cheatham," Cook said.

After holding the Wildcats to 15 first half points, the Clovers allowed 20 in the third quarter alone to see their lead dwindle to four.

They stepped it up in the fourth, though, putting up 18 points to close out the game.

"I thought the played well," Cook said. "I just thought the girls did a good job coming back from a tough loss at Cascade."

Cloverdale is on the road yet again on Tuesday, when it visits Rockville. While three straight road games may seem taxing on a team, Cook doesn't worry too much about it. He even values the calmness of a bus trip.

"It gives us some time on the bus to get relaxed and settle down a little bit," Cook said. "We get away from all the exterior distractions they have. I really don't mind it. It's a nice, easy drive for us and we're looking forward to it."

Another positive for the Clovers is the possible return of senior Kristen Schroer in the coming weeks. The forward broke her leg early in the season and has been out ever since. She has now had her cast off for more than a week and is doing well with rehab.

"Kristen Schroer is on her ankle again and doing some exercises and going through some therapy. We're kind of anxious to get her back."

For now, though, Cloverdale moves along with the players it has. The Clovers visit Rockville at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

At South Vermillion

Cloverdale 13 12 14 18 -- 57

South Vermillion 10 5 20 15 -- 50

Cloverdale (11-4, 2-1 WCC) -- Cheatham 23, McCammon 15, Koosman 10, Shepherd 5, Haltom 4.

South Vermillion (4-10, 2-1 WIC) -- McLeish 9, Samuelson 8, Milan 8, Phillips 8, Fuqua 7, Brower 6, Myers 2, Reed 2.

Next game -- Cloverdale visits Rockville at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

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