South Putnam wins OT thriller against Rockville

Wednesday, November 13, 2013
South Putnam junior Kately Lady attempts a 3-point shot during a scrimmage this preseason. Lady had 17 points on Tuesday. (Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN)

The South Putnam girls' basketball team welcomed in a new head coach, Bill Merkel, and the Rockville Rox for the first game of the season. The Eagles got off to a great start on the season, pulling out a hard fought victory in overtime 59-54.

The Eagles played from behind most of the game but never let up and kept the deficit to no more than five. The Eagles trailed at the end of every quarter except the fourth and overtime and made a short run at the end of the game to pull into a tie.

"The group played really well I thought. The last group that was out there, I was pretty well pleased at the effort that they put out there tonight," SPHS head coach Bill Merkel said.

South Putnam was sloppy on the offensive end, turning the ball over 23 times, but that did not matter much as the tough-nosed play of the guards, senior Aubrey Nichols and junior Olivia Arnold. The backcourt pair forced 20 turnovers by the Rox.

"I thought we did OK. We did some things they probably have not done much of before," Merkel said. "The only thing I was a little disappointed in was we had inside position and we still got out rebounded. We need to do a better job with that."

Rockville had 30 rebounds to the Eagles' 29.

The Eagles shot the ball well, making 16-of-34 from the floor and 75 percent of their 3-point attempts, but suffered at the line only making 9-of-22 free throws.

When key spots in the game arrived, the shooting came though. Nichols made two clutch 3s to put her team ahead in the fourth and then again to pull within one. She gave more than shooting. Her effort and determination gave her team the lead with 3:19 left in the fourth when she saved a ball from going out of bounds and, tumbling, threw it to junior Emily Dobson who made the shot to take the lead 48-47.

A three from Rox junior Alexia Lear put the Eagles in a hole 52-48 with 2:20 remaining in the game. On the Eagles next possession junior Katelyn Lady hit a shot to add to her game-high total 17 to pull within two, then did the same on the next possession to tie the game at 52. Neither team had good looks after Lady's tying shot and the score held through regulation.

In overtime, teams need players to step up. The Eagles found the lady for the job in senior Amanda Barnes. With her team up by one, 55-54, and less than a minute left, Barnes stole the ball and was fouled on a shot. She hit 1-of-2 at the line to extend the lead to two.

After trading turnovers, the Eagles called a timeout to set up a play with 25 seconds left. Barnes caught the ball, dribbled around the edge and scored to put the game away at 58-54.

The Rox tried to get the game back to one possession but Nichols stole the ball with 7.9 seconds left and hit 1-of-2 shots at the free throw line to ice the victory.

This win gives the young team confidence for the season, something young teams with new coaches need. The Eagles look to be a force in the West Central Conference with their size, speed, defense and outside shooting abilities.

"They hung in there and made shots when we needed them too. It was a long, hard fought victory," Merkel said. "One game at a time, this is a start."



At South Putnam
Rockville 13 13 12 14 2 -- 54
S. Putnam 11 12 11 18 7 -- 59

Stats
Rockville: 12-46 (7-13) 9-21 - 54.
South Putnam: 16-34, (6-8) 9-22 - 59.

Rebounds: R 30, SP 29.
Turnovers: R 20, SP 23.

Individual Scoring:
Rockville: Black 16, Lear 11, White 8, Boardman 7, Fellows 7, Pratt 3, Bullington 2.
South Putnam: Lady 17, Dobson 14, Barnes 11, Nichols 9, Arnold 3, Hewitt 3, Higgins 2, Modglin 2.

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