Cloverdale girls lose a big one to Cascade, 98-27

CLOVERDALE -- After 32 minutes of action Friday night Cloverdale girls basketball coach Tom Anderson was speechless.

The young Clovers team fell to Cascade by a final of 98-27 to leave them winless on the season.

"Going into tonight's game I thought we had turned the corner," said Anderson. "Two games ago against South Vermillion we played our best basketball game in two years.

"Tonight we played our worst game in two years."

Sophomore Bristy Skiles provided a spark for the Clovers in the fourth quarter knocking down 3-of-6 three pointers for a team high nine points on the night.

After sophomore Paige Gruener hit the opening shot of the game the Clovers went scoreless until Sydney Shrum hit two free throws with 5:11 left in the second quarter. All four of the Clovers points in the second quarter came from the foul line.

Ball handling issues plagued the Clovers throughout the night. Cascades trapping defense in the first quarter made it almost impossible for the Clovers to get the ball up the court. When the Cadets backed off the pressure the Clovers still had a hard time handling the ball.

"From watching us tonight you wouldn't think that we work on ball handling in practice," said Anderson. "We spend a lot of time during practice just working on ball handling."

As the team looks towards sectionals, Anderson said that someone needs to step-up and lead the team.

"I have been waiting for a class to come in here and turn this around," he said.

The last time the Lady Clovers won a game was Dec. 7, 2009 against Eminence.

Leading the way for Cascade was senior Bridget Smith with 40 points going 16-20 on the night.

At Cloverdale

Cloverdale 2 4 9 12 -- 27

Cascade 25 30 19 24 -- 98

Individual Stats

Cloverdale -- Skiles 9, Gruener 4, Nally 4, Sinks 3, Shrum 2, Dean 2, Woodworth 1, Jordan 1, Fulkerson 1. Totals: 8-40 FG, 3-17 FT, 27 TP.

Cascade -- Bridget Smith 40, Brandyce Sallee 13, Brittney Sallee 8, Tomblin 6, Mallorie Smith 6, Mary Toimblin 5, Smallwood 5, Powell 4, Rivera 4, Ott 4, Stein 3. Totals: 41-75 FG, 7-9 FT, 98 TP.