Tiger Cubs hold off North Putnam for crown

Friday, March 19, 2010
Members of the 2010 Putnam County Champion 8th grade GMS team are Jodi Buis, Shelby Earl, Miranda Nuz, Jenna Berry, Kalah Reed, Corinne Trigg, Devin Cox, Shelby Bonebrake, Danielle Thomas, Alex Baisle, Celeste Klinger, Melody White and Liz Johnson.

GREENCASTLE -- It wasn't as easy of a road as their seventh grade counterparts, but the GMS 8th grade girls' basketball team was able to overcome a tough North Putnam team for the Putnam County title. The Tiger Cubs won 33-24 to seize the crown.

For the first quarter and a half, Greencastle and North Putnam traded buckets and leads, giving the fans in attendance a game that kept them on the edge of their seats.

The Tiger Cubs led 6-4 after one quarter of play, then watched as North Putnam rallied to take the lead in the second 10-9. A Shelby Earl three-pointer propelled GMS on a 6-2 run to close the quarter, giving them an 18-12 edge at the half.

Jenna Berry

The second half began much the same way the first had. Greencastle got up, but North Putnam was able to charge and close the gap.

GMS jumped out to a 23-15 lead in the third, but the Cougars scored four points to trim the lead to 23-19 after three quarters of play.

It was the fourth quarter where the Tiger Cubs were able to put some points on the board and keep the Cougars at bay. They outscored North Putnam 10-5 in the final six minutes to come away with the crown.

Earl led the way for GMS with 11 points, followed by Alex Baisle with nine and Melody White with seven. Miranda Nuz chipped in four points, and Danielle Thomas added two.

Greencastle head coach Bradley Key was more than pleased with his team's performance.

"It was a lot of fun," Key said. "Our girls did a good job of responding to me. I'm a little intense for them, but I thought Shelby Earl did a good job of scoring the ball tonight. I thought Alex Baisle really improved. She did a good job getting the ball in the middle and then distributing.

"Our scoring was really balanced for what had been going on. Melody White did a great job in the post. Just a good group of girls," he added.

North Putnam was led by a duo of double figure scorers. Rebecca Booth lead all scorers with 12 points, followed by Madi Asbell with 11. Anna Sims chipped in one point for the Cougars.

For North Putnam head coach Tyler Egli, his team showed the same fight they have all season and he too was impresses with how his team has improved.

"My team never gives up, North Put never, ever gives up and that's what I love about this team. I'm just thankful that I can be the coach and watch these girls because they've made great strides throughout the year. Our records don't show that, but they've made huge improvements and I couldn't be prouder of them. It's a great, great team to coach," Egli said.

At South Putnam

8th grade Putnam County Championship

Greencastle 6 12 5 10 -- 33

North Putnam 4 8 7 5 -- 24

Greencastle (33) -- Earl 11, Baisle 9, White 7, Nuz 4, Thomas 2. Totals: 10-44 FG, 10-16 FT, 33 TP.

North Putnam (24) -- Booth 12, Asbell 11, Sims 1. Totals: 7-40 FG, 9-16 FT, 24 TP.