Tiger Cubs drop third straight

Monday, December 7, 2009

GREENCASTLE--Greencastle's girls basketball team played a high-quality opponent Saturday, falling to Edgewood 59-42 in a nonconference game on the Tiger Cubs' court.

It was the sixth straight victory for the Mustangs (6-1). The Tiger Cubs (4-3) lost their third straight.

"They're (Edgewood) a good team," Greencastle coach Bradley Key said. "They have several players who really understand the game. What's scary about them is they're good and they're young, too.

"I saw a lot of positives from us. I think at times our defense looked as good as it has all year and then we had some breakdowns. At times we did a good job moving (offensively), but we had a lot of shots that didn't go down."

The Tiger Cubs made only 33 percent (15-of-45) of their field goal attempts, including 0-of-7 on 3-pointers. The Mustangs were 25-of-63, 39.6 percent, from the field, but hit 5-of-11 3-pointers to make a major difference in the game.

Edgewood out-rebounded the Tiger Cubs 39-31 and had five fewer turnovers, 13 to 18. Those 13 possessions also were pivotal in the outcome.

The Mustangs' full-court, man-to-man defense caused Greencastle problems.

"They did a good job putting pressure on the ball," Key said. "We need to learn to handle it better."

Mallory Miller led Greencastle with 15 points, but had an off-night on 3-pointers. She missed all four attempts from beyond the arc.

"I thought Miller did a great job taking the ball to the hole," Key said. "She averages about three 3-pointers a game.

Greencastle's Chelsea Samuels had 10 points and five rebounds. The 6-foot junior was 4-of-6 from the field and 2-of-3 at the foul line. She was matched up inside against Edgewood's 6-foot Angela Hacker, a mobile and skilled player who had 14 points on 6-of-8 field goals, 2-of-6 at the foul line, and five rebounds. The Mustangs had another solid player in the post in 5-foot-11 Rachel Delay, who had 11 points on 5-of-7 field goals and 1-of-2 at the line and added five rebounds.

"I thought Chelsea played a lot better, especially defensively," Key said. "She did a good job of blocking out."

Alyssa Nichols, a 5-foot-3 junior guard, scored 11 on 4-of-5 field goals and 3-of-4 free throws for the Tiger Cubs. Seven of her points came in the fourth quarter.

Greencastle fought back from an 8-0 deficit to close the deficit to 15-13 at the end of the first quarter on Nichols' 8-foot runner at the buzzer.

"We started a little slow, but were able to battle back by the end of the first quarter," Key said.

Greencastle scored only four points in the second quarter, making 1-of-12 field goal attempts and 2-of-5 at the foul line.

Even with the poor shooting, the Tiger Cubs were trailing only 22-17 late in the second quarter.

But Edgewood went on an 10-0 run in the final 87 seconds for a 32-17 halftime advantage. Leah Fiegle made a 3-pointer and followed with a lay-up on a fast break following a missed shot by Greencastle. Hannah Rommel scored inside for the Mustangs and was fouled. She missed the free throw, but reserve center Kelsey Weddle grabbed the rebound, scored, was fouled and completed the conventional three-point play.

"Edgewood kept running players in the first half and they didn't have a drop-off," Key said.

Samuels scored inside late in the third period to move Greencastle within eight, 39-31, but Hacker's free throw and Chelsea Miller's 3-pointer at the third-quarter buzzer boosted the Mustangs into a 43-31 advantage.

Edgewood put the game away with an 8-0 run to start the fourth quarter.

"We did some good things," Key said. "We just need some more experience."

EDGEWOOD 59, GREENCASTLE 42

Edgewood15171116--59
Greencastle1341411--42

EDGEWOOD 59

Rommel 3-8 0-1 6, Hacker 6-8 2-6 14, Delay 5-7 1-2 11, Miller 4-16 0-0 10, Luther 2-7 0-0 4, Faletic 0-2 0-0 0, Fiegle 2-5 0-0 5, Edmonson 2-7 0-0 6, Weddle 1-3 1-1 3, Neidigh 0-0 0-0 0, Totals 25-63 4-10 59.

GREENCASTLE 42

Miller 5-18 5-6 15, Babington 0-4 1-2 1, Samuels 4-6 2-3 10, Burgeson 1-5 1-2 3, Nobles 0-4 0-0 0, Nichols 4-5 3-4 11, Pruitt 1-3 0-0 2, Beck 0-0 0-0 0, Brotherton 0-0 0-0 0, Wainman 0-0 0-1 0, Totals 15-45 12-18 42.

3-point field goals: Edgewood 5-11 (Edmonson 2-3, Miller 2-4, Fiegle 1-1, Faletic 0-1, Luther 0-2), Greencastle 0-7 (Miller 0-4, Babington 0-1, Burgeson 0-1, Nobles 0-1). Rebounds: Edgewood 39 (Miller 6, Hacker 5, Delay 5), Greencastle 31 (Samuels 5, Miller 4, Burgeson 4, Pruitt 4). Turnovers: Edgewood 13, Greencastle 18. Total fouls: Edgewood 19, Greencastle 12. Fouled out: None.

Next game: Greencastle plays at Danville on Tuesday, starting at 7:30 p.m.