Clovers, Tigers Cubs win county crowns

Friday, March 15, 2013
The 2013 Putnam County eighth grade girls' basketball champion Cloverdale Clovers: Isabel Monnett, Lindsey Davis, Kelsey Helterbrand, Kirsten Frey, Skylar Price, Lauren Meek, Payten Simpson, Makayla Westell and Abigail Speas. The Clovers are coached by Ed Stevens. (Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN)

The Cloverdale eighth grade girls' basketball team became the only team to beat Greencastle in a middle school tournament game this year, winning the 2013 Putnam County Championship with a 32-30 victory in Thursday's final.

In the seventh grade game, Greencastle outlasted host South Putnam 26-23.

The eighth-grade Clovers were led by strong performances from Lauren Meek and Kelsey Helterbrand.

Helterbrand had a game-high 15 points and Meek chipped in 12. She also had two big steals late in the fourth quarter to seal the win.

"(Meek) likes to shoot. She was hot at the beginning and cooled off, but she just picked it up at the end and played hard," Cloverdale coach Ed Stevens said. "Kelsey Helterbrand has been playing hard all year. She's been the beast in the middle."

The Clovers came out hot on offense and scored 24 in the first half. When their shooting cooled off in the second half it was the defense that kept them at an advantage.

"They are fighters," Stevens said. "We've gone to this 1-3-1 trap, and it's worked for us for the last month and a half. The girls really played well. They're quick so we attacked with our speed."

Makayla Westell added five points for Cloverdale.

Greencastle eighth-grader Mia Stevens led her squad, scoring 12 points. Other GMS scorers included Grace Paul (six), Kate Anderson (four), Lindsey Bridgewater (four), Lexee Miller (two) and Gracie Smith and Whitney Weinschenk (one each).

The 2013 Putnam County seventh grade girls' basketball champion Greencastle Tiger Cubs: Marin Nally, Macey Masten, Rose White, Corrine Buchanan, Layna Robinson, Julia Mundy, Grace Liveoak, Emily Steadmon, Brynne Shuee, Kaitlyn Patterson and Sydney Cash. The Tiger Cubs are coached by Janna Boggess. (Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN)

The seventh grade contest came down to the final minute as well.

South Putnam's Alex Fanning nailed a three-point try to tie the game at 23-all with 35 seconds left, but Greencastle's Kaitlyn Patterson calmly got to the basket, drew a foul and completed a layup.

Patterson's bucket proved to be the backbreaker for South Putnam.

"It's really exciting to see my girls stay in the game and play hard," Greencastle seventh grade coach Janna Boggess said.

The Tiger Cubs were led in scoring by Rose White and energetic Macey Masten, who scored seven each.

Masten's aggressivess in the fourth quarter, and the defense of Sydney Cash, were keys in keeping the Tiger Cubs on top.

"Macey Masten gets all over in when she needs to, and she played her heart out tonight," Boggess said. "Sydney Cash's job was to face-guard Maddie McHugh and she did a great job. That was her only job was to follow (McHugh) all over the court, and she did it extremely well."

Greencastle's other scorers included Marin Nally (four points), Brynne Shuee and Julia Mundy (three each) and Emily Steadman (two).

South Putnam was led by Savannah McIntosh who scored six points and tallied 14 rebounds. Ally Nichols scored seven points to lead the Eagles.

Alex Fanning (five), Maddie McHugh (three) and Jessi Halcomb also scored for South Putnam.

The Tiger Cubs won both 2013 boys' county basketball tournaments and will be the reigning champs of three total going into next season.

Greencastle eighth-grader Mia Stevens denies a shot attempt by Cloverdale's Makayla Westell (30). (Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN)



At South Putnam

2013 Putnam County Girls' Basketball Tournament

South Putnam seventh graders Savannah McIntosh and Ally Nichols (2) fight for a rebound as Shuee waits for the ball to drop out of bounds. (Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN)



Seventh Grade

Greencastle 8 4 5 9 -- 26
South Putnam 4 2 7 10 -- 23

Scoring
Greencastle: White 7, Masten 7, Nally 4, Mundy 3, Shuee 3, Steadman 2, Robinson 0, Cash 0.
South Putnam: Nichols 7, McIntosh 6, Fanning 5, McHugh 3, Halcomb 2, Bills 0, Perry 0, Ball 0.

Cloverdale eighth-grader Lauren Meek dives to save a ball that is just out of her reach in the fourth quarter. (Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN)



Eighth Grade
Greencastle 10 9 7 4 -- 30
Cloverdale 12 12 3 5 -- 32

Scoring
Greencastle: Stevens 12, Paul 5, Anderson 4, Bridgewater 4, Miller 2, Smith 1, Weinschenk 1, Bodnarick 0, Bousman 0, Newton 0, Taylor 0, Schneider 0, Glaze 0.
Cloverdale: Helterbrand 15, Meek 12, Westell 5, Monnett 0, Davis 0, Frey 0, Price 0, Simpson 0, Speas 0.

Greencastle seventh-grader Brynne Shuee (33) elevates for a rebound in a crowd. (Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN)
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