It only took the South Putnam High School girls' basketball team one quarter to establish a lead it would never relinquish

It only took the South Putnam High School girls' basketball team one quarter to establish a lead it would never relinquish.

The Eagles posted their 10th win of the season Wednesday, knocking off Riverton Parke 63-21. The points the Eagles scored in the first quarter were all they needed to defeat Riverton Parke, as South Putnam outscored the Panthers 22-4 in the first quarter of play. No matter what the Panthers tried, they couldn't get the ball up the court. The Eagles pressed the Panthers from the start of the game and kept the pressure on throughout the first half.

In the first half, the Eagles forced the Panthers to turn the ball over 15 times off their press defense, while running down the other way for a easy layup.

"We wanted to start the game scoring off our press," SPHS Coach Debbie Steffy said. "They did a good job of helping each other with the press (Wednesday) which is something we haven't done."

For the fans watching the game, it seemed like it was going to be another Canary show after the first half.

The Canary sisters, Jessica and Meghan, totaled 16 of the 35 points South Putnam scored in the first half and had five combined steals along with five assists. But that wouldn't be the case in the second half of the game.

The second half proved to be a little tougher for South Putnam, as Riverton Parke would actually put together an offense.

Megan Porter came out quick in the third quarter and posted five points for the Panthers, but any hope that the Panthers had of putting a run together was soon stopped. South Putnam's defense put a stop to Riverton Parke's run attempt, with some excellent rebounding. When the Panthers missed, it was the Eagles who crashed the boards. The Eagles picke dup five more boards in the third quarter and received some offensive help from Dara Booe.

Booe, who only scored two points in the first half, came out and chipped in three more points and snagged two boards for the Eagles in the third quarter. Jessica came out and did her thing in the third quarter, nailing a big three-pointer in the beginning, along with two other jump shots. She also picked the ball off twice from the Panthers.

"I was very pleased with the girls' defense (Wednesday). They played with intensity for the whole game," Steffy said.

The fourth quarter was no different, except for the Canary show was over and it was the South Putnam show. Jessica Canary sat most of the fourth quarter out and let her teammates finish the job. C.J. Searles put up four points for the Eagles in the paint in the last quarter while Bailey Birt chipped in a couple as well. Meghan Canary scored four more points had two assists in the fourth quarter.

The Eagles will have a tougher challenge on Friday when they host the Greencastle Tiger Cubs and Steffy knows it.

"Friday is going to be a tough game matching up with (Kyrian) Marshall in the middle and (Stefanie) Masten," Steffy said. "We really don't have a banger this year to put in the middle. It's going to be a good game."

Jessica Canary led the Eagles offense with 17 points while Meghan Canary had 12 points. Searles came through for 10 points while Baily Birt and Liz Mink chipped in six points each. Booe had five points for the night and Oceaia Boetjer had three points.

In junior varsity action, the Eagles defeated the Panthers 23-15.

South Putnam will host Greencastle in a West Central Conference match up starting at 6 p.m.

At South Putnam

South Putnam 22 13 14 14-- 63

Riverton Parke 4 2 10 5 -- 21

SP -- Robinson 0 0-0 0, M. Canary 6 0-0 12, J. Canary 7 2-2 17, Stanifer 2 0-0 4, Birt 3 0-0 6, Boetjer 1 1-2 3, Booe 2 1-2 5, Searles 5 0-0 10, McHugh 0 0-0 0, Mink 3 0-0 6, Butts 0 0-0 0. Totals -- FG 29-60, FT 4-6, TP 63.

RP -- Porter 2 0-0 5, Vincent 1 0-2 2, Edington 0 0-0 0, Riggen 0 0-0 0, Wood 1 0-0 3, Kite 0 0-0 0, Walton 0 0-0 0, Secuskie 1 0-0 2, Herzog 2 0-0 4, Adams 0 1-2 1, Campbell 1 0-0 2, Craft 0 2-2 2. Totals -- FG 8-38, FT 3-6, TP 21.

3pt -- SP 1 (J. Canary), RP 1 (Porter). Rebounds -- SP 25 (M. Canary 6), RP 20 (Cambell 7), Assists -- SP 13 (M. Canary 5), RP 0. Steals -- SP 14 (J. Canary 5), RP 5 (Herzong 2). Total Fouls -- SP 8, RP 5. Fouled Out -- None

JV -- South Putnam defeated Riverton Parke 23-15.

Next Game -- The Eagles host Greencastle Friday in a WCC match up starting at 6 p.m.