Greencastle wins second straight, downs Cougars

Greencastle girls' basketball picked up an impressive 51-25 conference victory over North Putnam on Friday night at the McAnally Center.

This West Central Conference showdown was close in the first quarter, with neither team finding proper offensive stride. Greencastle had plenty open looks, many thanks to North Putnam defensive lapses, but couldn't find a way to connect.

The Cougars, on the other hand, shot quite well when they were able to find a shot, but instead turned the ball over before seeing much of the bucket.

"We couldn't seem to learn from one mistake," North Putnam head coach Jim Brothers said after he had talked to his team. "We just kept repeating the same thing over and over."

The second quarter would be all Tiger Cubs.

While the Cougar offense fell silent, Greencastle went on a 14-0 run over the entirety of the quarter. While still not shooting impressively, Hannah Wainman and company used fast break points to propel the Tiger Cubs to an insurmountable 24-8 lead going into the locker rooms.

"Our defensive pressure got us the ball and some easy baskets," Greencastle head coach Bradley Key said following the game. "North Putnam had a good game plan but we had other ladies step up."

The Tiger Cub run would extend deep into the third quarter as well, completely disarming the Cougars. The run would finally come to an end at 4:26 in the third when Kensy Asbell rebounded a miss for the first North Putnam bucket since the first quarter. Morgan Robinson added four of her own which created a quick 6-0 run for the Cougars, but the overwhelming 22-0 run would prove to be too much for North Putnam to overcome.

"I was proud of how my girls fought," Coach Brothers added. "They didn't look at the scoreboard and say 'this is over.'

"Unfortunately we turned the ball over on nearly every possession (in the second quarter)and they got baskets in transition. That was the difference in the game."

Wainman led all scorers with 15 points in limited action, fouling out with 5:06 left in the game. Alex Basile followed with 10 points of her own for the Tiger Cubs, Taylor Pruitt added nine and Jessi Covert had seven off of the bench.

Maggie Pinney scored eight points for the Cougars, with Robinson added seven and LeeAnn Davis had four.

"Overall I'm proud of my team," Key said. "You're preparing for sectionals all the time and defensively we played really well.

"At the free throw line we aren't where we want to be...but if we will keep working on the little things. It was a good win tonight."

At Greencastle

North Putnam 8 0 11 6 -- 25

Greencastle 10 14 14 13 -- 51