Lady Eagles net road win, 53-45

Wednesday, December 17, 2014
Eagle senior Katie Hewitt drives baseline for a chance at the bucket. Hewitt led the Eagles in scoring with 16 points. (Banner Graphic/TRENT SCOTT)

SPENCER--Having lost three games on the spin, South Putnam's girls' basketball team went looking for an elusive win at Owen Valley Tuesday night.

The Eagles had not beaten the Patriots on their last six trips south and lost the last eight overall meetings but would not add to either tally as the visitors scraped out a 53-45 victory.

South Putnam head coach Tim Garver was relieved to put a win on the board after a sometimes sloppy and all-the-time physical contest against the Patriots in which both teams combined for 50 fouls and 51 turnovers.

"We'll take the win," Garver said. "It was sweet and we needed it.

"They put the full-court pressure on us and we struggled with that in the second quarter. At halftime, we made a few adjustments and handled the press a little bit better and got them into some fouls, which really helped us out."

Defenses ruled the first-quarter as through four minutes of the frame, each team had a solitary free throw to their name.

Katelyn Lady's three was the difference by the end of the period as the visitors held a 6-3 lead over the Patriots.

Having been hurt by first quarter deficits, Garver pointed out that winning the first quarter was a big boost.

"We came out and said that we didn't care if we won the first quarter by one point, we wanted to win the first quarter," Garver said. "We were patient with the ball and moved it around a lot."

Play soon resembled a whirlwind as South Putnam started the second quarter on an 11-2 run.

Turnovers, steals and fouls, however, would soon balance matters out as the hosts ended the period on a 10-2 run of their own, leaving the Eagles with just a three-point halftime lead at 24-21.

Breakdowns in passing meant that matching scores became the goal by the break, according to Garver.

"I think the game turned into a sloppy mess in the second quarter because everyone was throwing the ball all around and that's when loose balls happened," Garver said. "They scored points and we scored points because no one was playing defense, just matching baskets."

South Putnam settled down early in the third quarter and got off to a good start with a pair of Miranda Bieghler threes.

Bieghler's second three, midway through the period, proved to be the last Eagle score for the quarter as the hosts scored the last four points of the quarter to cut the lead down to a point at 32-31.

While the scoring dropped off, the fouls continued for Owen Valley while Garver said that moving to a zone helped keep the Eagles out of foul trouble themselves.

"We went to more of a 2-3 zone defense in the third and once we got that going, in the fourth quarter we went back to a man defense," Garver noted. "By doing that, we saved some fouls for later."

Clinging to a one-point lead, the visitors would not fall behind as Katie Hewitt unloaded on the offensive end in the final quarter.

Hewitt scored 12 of her team-high 16 points in the final stanza, scoring the first four points of the quarter, snaring four more points off steals and making nine trips to the free throw line.

Garver said that Hewitt's influence on the fourth quarter was the kind of effort the team needed.

"Katie Hewitt stepped up really big in that fourth quarter," Garver pointed out. "She winds up with 16 points, goes to the line nine times and in those kinds of games, that's what you've got to have."

With Owen Valley losing two players to fouls and unable to attack freely, the visitors held as large as a 10-point lead in the final minute to secure their third win of the season.

Keeping the ball moving proved to be the biggest change toward victory for the Eagles according to Garver.

"I think the girls did a better job in the fourth quarter moving the ball against the press," Garver said. "They didn't catch the ball and hold it, they caught it, moved it and got the ball down the court.

South Putnam hosts Covenant Christian on Thursday in their final game of 2014 and Garver said that while the squad was a little banged up, they would have to prepare for more of the same pressing they had seen Tuesday night.

"We got bumped up and bruised up a bit so we're going to have to take it easy but we'll get a lot of shooting in," Garver said. "We're also going to have to work on the press offense.

"Covenant's the type of team that's very aggressive and they'll press us from one baseline to the other. We know we have to be ready for that, so we'll get in the gym tomorrow and work on the press."


At Owen Valley


South Putnam 6 18 8 21 -- 53 Owen Valley 3 18 10 14 -- 45


Statistics
Scoring

South Putnam -- 18-46 FG, 6-16 3-FG, 11-24 FT -- Hewitt 16, Bieghler 13, Stein 9, Higgins 6, Lady 6, Carmichael 3, Modglin 0, Dobson 0, McHugh 0

Owen Valley -- 12-49 FG, 3-8 3-FG, 18-26 FT -- Bucy 22, Morgan 7, Wuery 6, Day 6, Mitchell 2, Schafer 2, Wesley 0, Cattorini 0, Truax 0


Rebounds (Offensive)
South Putnam 24 (12); Owen Valley 22 (11)
Assists
South Putnam 10; Owen Valley 5
Steals
South Putnam 15; Owen Valley 15
Blocks
South Putnam 1; Owen Valley 0
Turnovers
South Putnam 27; Owen Valley 24
Fouls
South Putnam 24; Owen Valley 26
Next Game: South Putnam (3-6, 0-1 WCC) hosts Covenant Christian Thursday.

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