JV Clovers win County

For the fourth year in a row, the Cloverdale High School girls' junior varsity basketball team has been crowned the Putnam County Champion.

The Clovers knocked off North Putnam in the championship game, 26-15, at home Saturday to claim the title.

"The girls played hard," Cloverdale coach Curt Cummings said. "There were times when I wondered, but we got out and got a great lead and the girls didn't let it go."

The Clovers opened the game on a 13-0 run, holding North Putnam scoreless in the first quarter.

North Putnam blanked the Clovers in the second, 6-0, to head into the halftime break trailing by only seven and continued its momentum well into the third.

The Cougars outscored Cloverdale 7-4 in the third period to cut their deficit to just four heading into the fourth, 17-13.

But Cloverdale had a strong third quarter, thanks to Allie Franklin, who scored four of her team-leading eight points in the quarter and led the Clovers to a 9-2 advantage in the period.

Kayla Shepherd helped the cause by draining a three-pointer with 5:22 to go in the fourth. Shepherd's shot from behind the arc was the only three-point bucket in the game Saturday.

On the whole, Cummings was pleased with how his team performed, both on the court and mentally.

"There were times when the girls just had to stick it out," Cummings said.

North Putnam was led by Elsiana Crosby, who scored eight points in the contest on three field goals, going 2-of-5 at the free throw line.

Dakota Malayer had four points, Briana Stein added two and Kate Williams scored one for NPHS.

In addition to Franklin and Shepherd, Elizabeth Cheatham contributed six points for the Clovers on three buckets inside, while Alesha Evans scored five, going 3-of-5 at the charity stripe.

Maria Skiles added one point for the Clovers.

North Putnam advanced to the championship game with a 28-15 win over Greencastle while the Clovers made it into the finals after beating South Putnam, 30-18.

Cloverdale will take the court again Thursday at home when they'll face Monrovia at 6 p.m. while the Cougars will hit the road Tuesday to face North Vermillion for a 6 p.m. start.

At Cloverdale

JV Putnam County Tournament Championship

Cloverdale (26) -- Franklin 4 0-0 8, Shepherd 1 3-5 6, Cheatham 3 0-3 6, Evans 1 3-5 5, Skiles 0 1-2 1. 9 FG 7-15 FT 26 TP.

North Putnam (15) -- E. Crosby 3 2-5 8, Stigall 0 0-0 0, Malayer 2 0-0 4, Williams 0 1-2 1, Stein 1 0-2 2, Fordice 0 0-0 0. 6 FG 3-9 FT 19 TP.

3-pt FG -- Cloverdale (Shepherd)

Next Game -- The Clovers will be in action again Thursday at home against Monrovia starting at 6 p.m. while the Cougars will take the court Tuesday on the road against North Vermillion at 6 p.m.