Fabulous Winders not enough for Clovers against Thunderbirds

Kimmy Winders

BLOOMFIELD -- Cloverdale sophomore Kimmy Winders had 17 points and 14 rebounds and the girls' basketball team flashed signs of the momentum it gained during the Putnam County tournament last week but it wasn't quite enough on Monday.

The Clovers lost at Eastern Greene 55-42.

"We're still improving," CHS coach Matthew Langdon said. "We just need to do the small things. We see this as a missed opportunity. It was a pretty even opponent tonight. Whenever you're up at half you've got a good chance to win. We just weren't able to close it out."

It was the second-straight 17-point game for Winders, who has emerged as a guiltless, aggressive shooter and consistent attacker on the glass.

Undersized as she goes against power forwards, Winders has been attacking rebounds hard and working to box out since she moved into the starting lineup a few games ago.

"She's really just a workhorse," Langdon said. "She grits out every single rebound and put-back. She's getting her shot back now. She's really added an extra element for us."

Led by Winders and junior guard Bailee Stevens, the Clovers led 21-19 at halftime and carried a 29-17 advantage on rebounds before the break.

The problem for Cloverdale (1-5, 0-0 WCC) wasn't getting the ball, it was holding onto it long enough to get a shot off.

The Clovers had 24 turnovers and attempted just 36 shots compared to 69 from the Thunderbirds (2-2, 1-0 SWIAC).

While some of that disparity can be explained by free throws, which don't count as field goal attempts and which were hugely swayed toward Cloverdale (26 attempts to 13 from Eastern Greene), the defensive pressure from the hosts was too much at times, Langdon said.

"The overall press we were able to beat, but just that man-on-man pressure we weren't able to do tonight," he said. "You just can't expect to win when you give up double the amount of field goals."

The Clovers adjusted a little better to the man-to-man pressure in the second half, but the Thunderbirds around that by swinging the rebounds their way. Junior Taylor Clark gives the Clovers their best post rebounder and reach, but she battled foul trouble and Eastern Greene took advantage.

Second-chance points and sloppy passes from the Clovers after they gathered defensive rebounds gave the Thunderbirds too many chances for Cloverdale to withstand.

The Clovers cut the deficit down to seven after Winders hit a 3-pointer with three minutes left, but the margin was too great.

"There was just a little stint in the third quarter when we got a little lazy with the boxing out and a little lazy wanting the ball more than the other person," Langdon said. "I think that wound up costing us the game, because it put up the lead to a 12-point lead when it should have been a four- or six-point lead. If it had been that, our comeback would have been enough."

Stevens finished the game with 14 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Clark had seven points, seven rebounds and two blocks. Stevens and Clark both fouled out.

The Thunderbirds had three players reach double figures in scoring, seniors Hannah Resler (12) and Amy Todd (10) and freshman Kayla Rogers (10).

Cloverdale plays next at Turkey Run on Monday, Dec. 2.

At Eastern Greene