Clovers improved, but five-guard lineup can't hold back Patriots in 58-33 loss

Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Junior Bailee Stevens and the Clovers were looking up most of the night on Monday as they faced the much taller Owen Valley team. (Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN)

CLOVERDALE -- The Cloverdale girls' basketball team did nearly everything well on Monday and nearly everything it takes to earn a win. The Clovers got visiting Owen Valley in foul trouble, made stops on defense, assisted on 77.8 percent of their field goals and took care of the ball.

But starting a five-guard lineup because of injuries, they just couldn't rebound. Cloverdale (0-3) lost 58-33.

"We knew it was going to be tough on the boards," CHS coach Matthew Langdon said. "I've never started five legit guards before, ever. ... We definitely, as a small team, have to work on boxing out."

The Patriots (1-2) struggled on their first, and sometimes even second, shots of a possession, confused by the Clovers' zone defense and unsure where defenders were even coming from.

The confusion didn't seem to matter too much as senior Sarah Jones and Owen Valley teammates dominated the glass. Thirteen of Jones's 18 rebounds were on the offensive end.

As a team, the Patriots finished with 31 offensive rebounds. Cloverdale had 38 total rebounds. Jones shot poorly, 7-for-22 on mostly layups, but her second looks added up to a game-high 17 points.

"The points that they scored on our defense the first (shot of a) possession were very low," Langdon said.

The Clovers' leading scorer, junior Taylor Clark, and sophomore forward Haley Hamm both missed the game with injuries, so guards Kimmy Winders and Megan Helterbrand were tasked with competing in the block against the much-taller Patriot front line.

They fought hard on the glass. Helterbrand, a senior, had six rebounds and Winders, a sophomore, had nine, but there was little they could do to stop Jones and her teammates from reaching up and grabbing rebounds.

The Patriots were 23-79 from the field, a good percentage for the Cloverdale defense, but CHS attempted only 43 field goals.

Offensively the Clovers were composed. After starting the game with 3-point shots, they adjusted and started to attack the basket for the first time this year.

"This was the first game that I saw a huge fight in our team. We did a lot of good things," Langdon said. "We really wanted to try to get to the line because when you can go inside-out, the shots are much easier when they're coming from the inside.

"I thought we did a much better job of attacking the basket in trying to draw some fouls."

The Clovers drew 19 fouls total and attempted 24 free throws, 18 more than the first two games combined.

Junior Bailee Stevens led that charge, getting to the line nine times. She finished with 10 points on 12 shots, eight rebounds and three assists. Helterbrand had eight points. Sophomore Peyton Dorsett had seven points and two assists.

More important than numbers, the Clovers looked composed and comfortable with their roles offensively for the first time this year.

They're hoping the momentum will carry over to Friday in the county tournament game against South Putnam in the championship's opening game beginning at 6:30 p.m.



At Cloverdale
Owen Valley......18 13 17 10 -- 58
Cloverdale..........9 11 8 5 -- 33

Team stats

*CLOV
FGA-FGM9-4323-79
FTA-FTM13-245-7
3PA-3PM2-164-19
Reb-Off38-1360-31
Assists77
Steals412
Blocks20
Turnover2012
Fouls1019
Points3358

Scoring
Owen Valley (1-2): Jones 7-22 3-4 17, Herrington 6-14 0-0 16, Wilson 5-13 2-3 12, Bucy 4-15 0-0 9, Smith 0-4 0-0 0, Mitchell 2-7 0-0 4, Swaim 0-3 0-0 0, Myers 0-1 0-0 0, Gilstrap 0-1 0-0 0. 3pt: Herrington 4-9, Bucy 1-5, Wilson 0-2, Jones 0-3.

Cloverdale (0-3): Stevens 3-12 4-9 10, Helterbrand 3-11 1-3 8, Dorsett 3-7 2-2 7, Worthington 1-3 2-2 4, Winders 0-8 2-4 2, Huge 0-2 1-2 1, Pieper 0-0 1-2 1, Combs 0-0 0-0 0. 3pt: Helterbrand 1-6, Dorsett 1-5, Winders 0-5.

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