GHS girls start fast, down Cougars 64-30

Saturday, February 1, 2014
Greencastle senior Alex Basile buries one of her five three-pointers Friday night on the way to a game-high 18 points. (Banner Graphic/JARED JERNAGAN)

Greencastle girls' basketball was up 7-0 on Friday night before North Putnam even had a shot attempt.

Before the Cougars had a bucket it was 11-0.

The Tiger Cubs forced 29 Cougar turnovers on their way to a 64-30 West Central Conference victory.

Greencastle (10-7, 3-1 WCC) came out in a press, forcing several early Cougar turnovers.

"That's the game plan. We feel like we have some pretty quick, athletic players up top in the press and we see if we can get some quick, easy baskets," GHS coach Brad Key said. "And we did. We looked up and we were up 7-0. It's kind of the start you want to get against a team that has been struggling a little bit record-wise. So you want to make sure you don't let someone hang around. We're happy with the start we had."

However, the giveaways continued for North Putnam (3-13, 1-3 WCC) even in the half court.

"We knew they were going to press and we prepared for it. We made bad decisions," Cougar coach Curtis Lawrence said. "I told the girls after the game that this was probably the worst game we've played since Danville, which was our second game out this year."

The early Greencastle pressure and the Cougars' ensuing struggles set the tone for the night.

The teams traded turnovers in their opening possessions before Paige Bragg drained a three.

Two more Cougar turnovers against the press led to a pair of Allison White layups, and Greencastle had a 7-0 lead only 1:19 gone from the game clock.

Lawrence called a timeout, but things got more out of hand from there.

"Greencastle did a very nice job tonight against us," Lawrence said. "We knew what they were going to do, defensively and offensively. There are just some things that you can't replicate in practice that the other team's going to do."

Jessica Lenihan owned the remainder of the first half for the Tiger Cubs, scoring 10 of her 15 points before the break. Her presence inside also got North Putnam's Taylor Nauert in first-half foul trouble.

GHS built the lead to 11 by the end of the quarter and had pushed it to 21 at the half, leading 35-14 at the break.

The hosts stretched the lead out even more in the third, this time on the hot shooting of senior Alex Basile. The guard drained five three-pointers, three of them after the break, and led GHS with 18 points.

Key said Basile's most significant contribution, along with that of backcourt mate Callan Taylor, was keeping the team focused, even in a game that was out of hand early.

"I think when we have the two guards we have in Alex Basile and Callan Taylor, it helps," Key said. "All of a sudden, they can calm us down, they can work the ball, they can get us in the offense. I saw Alex a couple of times telling people to work it. And that's what you want out of a senior leader. Callan Taylor's the same way; she's been a starter for three years."

The Tiger Cubs led 50-18 after three quarters.

In the fourth, with the benches largely emptied, Greencastle outscored North Putnam 14-12 to bring the game to its final score of 64-30.

Coming off a disappointing night, Lawrence said North Putnam has a chance to pick up a win against 2-14 Turkey Run.

"The girls are disappointed and I'm glad they are," Lawrence said. "But we've got a chance to bounce back. We've got a game Monday night against Turkey Run, but we've gotta play better than we did tonight. We're capable."

Madi Asbell led the Cougars with nine points, followed by Bethany Wiatt, Nauert and Jazzmin Laffin with five each.

For Key's club, it's about continuing what they're already doing well.

"We feel like we're playing our best basketball right now," Key said. "I thought we played excellent against Cascade and came up a last second short. We beat a ranked Covenant (Christian) team, which was a good basketball team. Tonight we went out and took care of business. We're kind of on a roll right now."

The Tiger Cubs visit Northview at 7:30 p.m. on Monday.

Before the teams take the court again, they will find out their sectional draw on Sunday night. Greencastle will compete in Class 3A Sectional 27 at Danville, while North Putnam will travel to Speedway for Class 2A Sectional 44.



At Greencastle
North Putnam 5 0 4 12 -- 30
Greencastle 16 19 15 14 -- 64
North Putnam (3-13, 1-3 WCC):
Asbell 3-10 1-2 9, Wiatt 2-5 0-0 5, Nauert 2-6 0-0 5, Laffin 2-3 0-0 5, Clodfelter 1-4 0-0 2, Millican 1-2 0-0 2, Parent 1-1 0-0 2, Land 0-5 0-0 0, Mindiola 0-3 0-0 0, Smith 0-1 0-0 0, Evans 0-0 0-0 0, Henninger 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 12-39 FG 1-2 FT 30 points.
Greencastle (10-7, 3-1 WCC):
Basile 6-14 1-2 18, Lenihan 6-8 3-4 15, Taylor 2-4 3-5 8, Bridgewater 2-5 0-2 6, A White 2-3 0-0 4, Bragg 1-7 1-4 4, Stoltey 1-6 1-2 4, Burgeson 1-3 0-0 3, Trout 1-3 0-0 2, M. White 0-2 0-1 0, Evans 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 22-55 FG, 9-18 FT 64 points.
3-pt FG:
NP 5-13 (Asbell 2-3, Nauert 1-1, Wiatt 1-2, Laffin 1-2, Land 0-3, Mindiola 0-1, Smith 0-1) GHS 11-29 (Basile 5-8, Bridgewater 2-5, Taylor 1-1, Bragg 1-7, Stoltey 1-3, Burgeson 1-3, Trout 0-2); Turnovers: NP 29, GHS 15.

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